


There was no other way

by Lionessinthedark



Series: The life of Doctor Strange [1]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (later in the story), Alternate Origin Story, Ironstrange (if you squint), Ironstrange?, Kamar-Taj, Origin Story, Post Infinity War, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Stordo (mentioned), The Ancient One's real name, infinity war fix-it, “There was no other way"
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-05-05 05:14:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 54,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14610156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lionessinthedark/pseuds/Lionessinthedark
Summary: I began this story as I saw the first pictures of Benedict Cumberbatch in Nepal. An origin story mixing things from the comics ( Mostly 'Essential Dr Strange1') and things from the film. I never managed to finish it and then 'Infinity War' happened...and I had to fix it.I have taken a lot from http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Doctor_Strange too.And a bit from: http://marvel.com/universe/Doctor_Strange_(Stephen_Strange)#axzz5EhmWlCHMBut I have altered a lot too. I do not follow the canon in Marvel's Doctor Strange universe. Who or what Vishanti and Agamotto...and Eternity are. I have altered that.And the time-line in my story is different too. Infinity War happens much later, compared to the film.....and in order to make a lot of things plausible, let's just imagine that Stephen Strange is a lot older than he seems and all the things including Thor and Loki happens several years after Dormammu's attack in Hong Kong.And this is a WIP. But most of it is written. I just have to connect the scenes.I am not English and my first language is not English...so please forgive me my mistakes. And I do not own the characters.





	1. Chapter one

Here is Stephen Vincent Strange's background story (If you just want the fix-it, then go to chapter 22 .......but things would get mentioned, and those things are not canon. Not in the film and not in the comics. But they are in my story)

 

Stephen Vincent Strange was born in New York city in 1978. He was the eldest son ofEugene Strange and Beverly Strange. They moved to a farm in Nebraska, as he was still an infant. He had two younger siblings, Donna and Victor. Stephen was a 'potential'....a child with magic abilities, such as a lot of children were. But being a child from 'Western Science'...the West, he would never have been exercised in Magic and his powers would stay unfurled.

 

He used them though, to save a a lot of children, while he and his father and mother and his two siblings, his sister Donna and his much younger brother Victor, were visiting his mother's brother and wife in their summerhouse near a lake in the Northern part of Pennsylvania, not so far from Lake Placid.

 

It was a small society of summerhouses, about 25 houses and only a small town, with 800 inhabitants, close to the south end of the lake. It was surrounded by forest and mountains and there were lots of trekking routes and beautiful landscapes and almost untouched nature around that small lake named Kalatuni. Some people claimed that is was an ancient name in Iroquois for 'The Demon Lake' and people thought the name had an origin in the special under-current, which would appear under special weather conditions. It had something to do with an underwater cave-system under the lake and with hidden connections to other lakes in the area.

 

On the fourth of July 1994 as Stephen was almost 17, his sister Donna 15 and Victor only 7 years old, all the grown-ups were busy barbecuing and drinking wine and beer and Stephen being the eldest was supposed to look after all the smaller children, including his sister, his brother, his cousins Melanie and Jonathan, and a lot of other children. 14 all in all from the age of 6 to 16. Of course Donna and Melanie were supposed to look after the younger ones as well. There was a raft tethered to the shore and a marking, made of cord, that showed how far you would be allowed to swim into the lake. The bottom of the lake right there was nice white sand and the youngest children were old enough to have learned to swim and the lake wasn't very deep in that end. All the children knew that they were not allowed to swim beyond the markings.

 

And yet. Something went terribly wrong and the under-current suddenly appeared with almost no warning and much stronger than ever. Dragging the children towards the deeper waters.

Stephen almost killed himself saving as many children as possible. He had shouted to Donna and Melanie that they should get on the raft and not try to reach the shore, as he saved all the smaller children and almost drowned trying to get them to dry land. But the raft had torn itself free and the two girls had drowned.

 

Stephen had exhausted himself to the brink of death, by saving all the other children and had had no strength left in him to help the two girls, as they cried for help, whilst clinging to the moving raft. He was on the shore and barely alive himself. An inexperienced sorcerer could risk using his own life-strength, as he ran out of magic power. And that was what Stephen had done. The under-current was not only a strange under-water phenomenon, but a dormant demon...and Stephen had fought it and won. Quite impressive. But he had had no powers left to help his sister and his cousin as they were dragged out into the lake.

 

He later felt that his parents and uncle and aunt blamed him for the death of those two girls.

 

He had been more and more withdrawn during the rest of the summer and his parents, engulfed in their own grief, hadn't noticed. As Stephen left for High School in August, it was the last time he saw his parents. He avoided them the following Christmas and holidays, choosing to be with a close friend, Armand Hastings, and his contact with his family was just through short letters and even shorter telephone-conversations.

 

The day he graduated, he had hoped that his parents would show up after all, but they never arrived. He later learned that they had been killed in a traffic-accident, but he didn't know that they had been on their way to visit him. The accident had happened two days earlier than the graduation, but no-one thought about telling him that it had taken more than 3 days to find them in the ravine, they had ended in.

 

Victor, his baby brother, was adopted by his uncle and aunt, and Stephen sort of lost contact with him for many years. And Victor, being a child, quickly adapted and found a new brother in his cousin Jonathan. And sort of forgot his eldest brother. A coping-mechanism, no doubt.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

The Ancient One didn't monitor Stephen afterwards, since there was only this one outburst of magic from his side....and she and the other magical masters were busy keeping Earth safe. There was no way she could keep an eye on every 'potential' on Earth. Especially not if they were 'Westerners'.

 

After his graduation Stephen went to medical school and his eidetic memory and intelligence made it possible for him to make his M.D. and Ph.D. at the same time _._

 

He began working as a neurosurgeon and his intelligence and skill-set and sometimes almost unbelievable ability to do the right thing at the right moment, made him a world-famous neurosurgeon...and at the same time very arrogant and selfish. He had invented an operating robot together with Christine Palmer, a colleague...and had achieved amazing results using it. That made him even more rich - and more lonely. But no wonder. Doctor Strange didn't dare to trust anyone again. He felt betrayed by his parents and by his family and felt rightfully that they blamed him for something that wasn't his fault. To keep a distance – never let people come close to him – never trust anyone totally – and fill his life with all those nice things that money could buy, that eased the pain inside him. And after some years he had got used to it and just felt numb.

 

The only person who penetrated his armour of ice, was Christina Palmer, his colleague, but even if they were in a relationship at some point, he never showed her his real self. He didn't even know if he had a 'real self' anymore – or if he missed it.

__________________________

The masters and apprentices of the three Sanctums, in New York, London and Hong Kong, and from the hidden temples in both Tibet and Nepal, had been in a lot of fights in other dimensions and a lot had been killed. New apprentices were needed and surviving apprentices had been promoted. The Ancient One had begun looking for potentials from other parts of the world and had an eye on Stephen Strange. She had looked into the future and had seen a possibility where Doctor Strange had become an apprentice in Kamar-Taj. She had decided to manipulate things, so he would end up under her tutelage. But before she had done anything yet, Doctor Strange's car crashed. That was the second time The Ancient One noticed a magical outburst from Doctor Strange. It had saved his life, but his hands had been outside the bubble, he had unknowingly created to protect himself, and his hands had been crushed.

 

 

When Doctor Strange was finally found in the wreckage of his car, his colleagues performed almost a miracle and managed, with the help of his robot, so save his hands from amputation. But not to cure them. Crushed bones and joints had been removed and replaced with advanced 3D-printed artificial pieces, but despite Hoffman's apparatuses and other procedures to save his hands, there was extensive nerve-damage and extensive soft-tissue-damage as well.

 

During the next years Doctor Strange used all his money on experimental treatments to save his hands from the ever-persisting pain and the tremors. Some of the procedures, that he himself invented, were brilliant and they made a difference, but they couldn't cure his hands, even if they prevented necrosis of soft tissue and deteriorating of the bone-matter in his hands.

 

But Doctor Strange grew more and more desperate and searched for more and more desperate procedures. At a point he had heard about a man, who had been cured for a partly paralyse, caused by a damage to his spinal cord, but Doctor Strange had forgotten about it, until he had nothing left. Doctor Strange had used all his money and had borrowed some on the 'grey market' and at a point his bank had said stop. Doctor Strange had been forced so sell everything, including his penthouse apartment, but had been allowed to keep a very few personal items, and had disappeared down into the streets of New York. Had become one of the many homeless persons, living at the bottom of the American society.

 

It hadn't been necessary to sink that low. He had been offered to become a teacher at his former hospital, but he had been too proud to accept that. If he had played his cards right, he could have kept his apartment and all his possessions. His salary as a teacher would have been high enough, even it it wouldn't have been as astronomical, as the money he had earned as a surgeon, but he had more money that he could spend, even as a teacher – alone the money earned because of the copy-right on his robot could have kept him 'on the sunny side of the street'. But he had sold his copy-right to the robot, as he desperately needed the money.

 

And then – living in one of the more shady parts of New York, together with other homeless existences, Doctor Strange met the very man, who had been cured: Jonathan Pangborn, and Doctor Strange could see with his own eyes that the man, who's journal he had read, indeed was walking and even playing basketball. Pangborn told about a place in Tibet. It was a temple and the leader 'The Ancient One' had helped him. That was what he could tell and what he wished to tell...and as Doctor Strange tried to find him the next day to get more information, he couldn't find the man again.

 

Doctor Strange decided to throw every decency to the winds and asked his friends for help. And a bit to his own surprise, they did help him with some money and then he was on his way to India.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

He landed in Kolkata...and got lost in the city. He was robbed and was left to die, but found help amongst the poor people in the slum of Kolkata. He learned that he wasn't poor at all, because he had his good head, his intelligence and his education and no one could take that away from him. He even managed to help the poor people as a doctor, even if he couldn't use his hands. He stayed there several weeks and finally they had collected enough money and clothes so he could go to an internet café and contact his friends in New York and as them for money again. He felt so ashamed, but did it, because it was the only way he could repay the poor people from the slum, who had saved his life, even if he was a white man. The three months in the slum had made a very humble Doctor Strange.

 

And then he travelled from Kolkata to Mayapur and through Baharampur to Dalkhola and finally he was in Tibet and travelled from Gyangtse to Shigatse, and continued to Lhazhong in a very old and unreliable bus. The journey took several weeks and he did sleep together with native inhabitants and Western young people on treks and adventure and on search for something, they might have found in their homelands, if they had moved away from the big towns. Peasants all over the world could have told them the same lesson: be humble about life, be pragmatic if you have to eat your own animals to sustain life and believe in higher powers, because under the high skies in the Scottish highlands...or in the mountains of Norway or in the marsh in Northern Germany, you learn that nature is a mighty force and that you do not leave much imprint in water, when you stick your finger in and then remove it. And sometimes it does help to pray to a deity.

The sorcerers, in the hidden temples, temples that the Chinese government couldn't see or discover for several reasons, those sorcerers could tell people why prayers did help, but those temples were few and hidden, even if you somehow looked directly at them, and the biggest of them was the Kamar-Taj.

 

And that was the one Doctor Strange tried to find. The only thing he had been told by Pangborn was that the temple was close to a small town in Tibet....and Doctor Strange was heading for that now. In a even more ramshackeled bus than the one from Shigatse to Lhazong. And on the bus Doctor Strange broke rule number one: “Don't fall asleep, if you want to keep your money”. During his sleep, Doctor Strange's last money was stolen from him.

 

A few kilometres from Dago, the small town Pangborn had mentioned, Doctor Strange was told to leave the bus, since he couldn't pay for the ticket for the last distance and Doctor Strange just started walking.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the place where my (unfinished) story begins: Doctor Strange Strange walking the streets of Dago in search for Kamar-Taj. 
> 
> I am not going to give too much away, since I might finish it. Just know that Doctor Strange finally made it and became apprentice of The Ancient One. (It follows the film a bit). But 'The Eye of Agamotto' is not just one of the 'infinity stones' – the 'time-stone', but also the tether that helps a multi-dimensional being to stay in our version of reality. 'Agamotto' is a being who can travel through a lot of dimensions and energy-levels. From the highest, close to the Creator of the Universe, GOD, to one of the lowest, namely the place where humans live. Humans live in a very limited place: Only four dimensions (up-down-hither and time) and on a very low energy level.

Doctor Strange came to Kamar-Taj in October and TAO (The Ancient One) had forced Doctor Strange to stay in the temple, at least until spring, because he had to make an impossible choice: either have his tremor cured or the pain removed. She told him, she couldn't do both. Doctor Strange worked as a servant, doing the laundry, serving tea, washing the floors and Doctor Strange couldn't decide. Sometimes the pain from the nerve-damage was so bad, that he wished they had amputated his hands and because even his pain-control exercises, which most of all was mediation, didn't help. And then he wanted the pain to at least diminish. Then the pain would lessen a bit and he had to use his hands, and the tremor was so bad, that he couldn't shave or eat with a spoon. And then he wanted the tremor to be cured. 

 

As it was getting closer to Spring, Strange saved The Ancient One from an attack from Kaecilius and he was asked to become her apprentice. Kaecilius had killed the librarian and stolen pages from the ' _Book_ of Cagliostro'.  It turned out that Strange's conversations with The Ancient One during the winter, as he brought her her tea, was a part of his education. And she showed him a contract, where he had fulfilled almost every point on the list.

 

He told her that he had to decline her offer. He would be a catastrophe as a sorcerer. He had seen what the 'Magic science' could do and had accepted that it was a science just like his 'Western Science'. 'Magic Science' just manipulated the 'magic matter' just like his science manipulated matter, whether it was steel in machinery or silicon in computers. But his tremor would make him make wrong figures to control the magic matter and his pain would distract him. And therefore he would have to say, “I can't be your apprentice.”

 

And that was the time, where Agamotto was introduced. He chose to appear as a human being (imagine Tom Hiddleston) and told Doctor Strange that he could cure his hands.

 

They worked together and Doctor Strange used his anatomical knowledge to guide the power, that Agamotto had, to cure the broken bones, alter the artificial joints, cure the damaged nerves and flesh and removing the scar tissue...and most important: cure the fractured image of the hands inside Doctor Strange's mind. One of the reasons, that prevented his hands from getting better. Doctor Strange stopped Agamotto before the scar tissue on the skin was cured.

 

“I need a reminder, so I do not get so damned arrogant again.”, said Doctor Strange and his cured hands still looked scarred and broken, even if they were all right. Almost. Because the broken image of Doctor Strange's hands was still rather persistent in his mind, and it would take years before it was healed too. His brain remembered the pain – so it would often return. Just like it could do, if people had had an amputation. Phantom pain.

 

And then Doctor Strange's education began for real. Karl Mordo trained him in martial arts and they became friends. Wong, the new librarian, told him about spells and protection and T.A.O. made sure that he learned the rest, alongside the other apprentices in the temple.

 

 

They had only a little time, but all three teachers: Karl Mordo, Wong and TAO, made the mistake to think that Doctor Strange was just as young, as the other apprentices.

 

Doctor Strange cheated and did bend the rules and stole books, that he was not allowed to read yet. Pushed his ethereal appearance out of his body, so it could stay awake and study, while his body slept. And used the same approach to the magic science as he had done to his western science. Careful approach after having taken the necessary precautions. But Mordo and Wong did stop him a few times and refused to see that he was a scientist with a healthy approach to the magic science as well. Some of their precautions were outdated and just rigid traditions and totally unnecessary.

 

And thank God he was a fast learner, because he was almost killed by Kaecilius and only because Doctor Strange met Christine Palmer as she saved him and the Cloak chose him and defended him, and because Doctor Strange used some of his forbidden knowledge, he managed to survive.

 

Later The Ancient One died protecting Mordo and Doctor Strange against Kaecilius, and finally the attacks on the Sanctums forced Doctor Strange to meet Dormammu.

 

Doctor Strange forced Dormammu to bargain, using the Time Stone. But at a terrible price. Dormammu killed Doctor Strange again and again, more than 2000 times, and even if Doctor Strange was happy, that he managed to defeat Dormammu and save Earth, Mordo was no longer his friend and left Wong and Doctor Strange with angry words. Not really knowing what Doctor Strange had done to save them all. And at that point Karl Mordo didn't care.

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Doctor Strange and Wong now worked together to rebuild the Sanctums in Hong Kong, London and New York and rebuild the temples and they managed to keep Earth safe for a long time. Wong managed to defend Doctor Strange against the results of the encounter with Dormammu, but it meant that Doctor Strange could only sleep within the walls of the Sanctums or temples. Otherwise the demon 'Nightmare' thrived on Doctor Strange's memories of all the 2011 deaths that Dormammu had inflicted on him. 'Nightmare' nearly killed Doctor Strange at a few occasions.

 

Now some of the events happening in the comics and in (upcoming films with the Avengers? With flashbacks? Or I find it a bit difficult to see how we can have a new Spiderman film, when Spiderman now is ash).

 

'The Oath' happens and a lot of other stuff. Doctor Strange meets 'Clea', Dormammu's niece and helps her and Dormammu against Umar, as Umar tries to defeat Dormammu and become the ruler of the Dark Dimension.

_______________________

 

Doctor Strange is now the Sorcerer Supreme for many years and more apprentices and Masters are educated. Doctor Strange and Wong are not alone any-more.

 

Doctor Strange learns to draw energy, not alone from Dormammu's darker dimensions, because they are still just 'Magic matter', but he learns to draw energy from the 'Chaos'. But only in the utmost desperate need. It is very dangerous and even potential dangerous for the stability of the Universe, because 'Chaos' is the opposite of what the Creator of the Universe made. Chaos is not a thinking being...it just is. And thinking and sentient beings can exist in that Chaos-dimension, but life-forms from our Universe can't. And our Universe isn't very stable. It requires maintenance all the time, or it will end up in its natural state 'chaos' again .

 

Agamotto tried to explain it to Doctor Strange that is was a bit like keeping a house. “You will have to paint it and repair the roof and make sure the drains work and tidy things up and mow the lawn, or it will end up in chaos. Everything moves towards its natural state, chaos. Suns, planets, galaxies. Chaos is so much easier to achieve. Imagine a tea-mug. Standing on the table it is 'order'. Drop it on the floor and it becomes 'chaotic'....and it is very difficult to make it 'in order' again. You will have to find clay and form it and burn it and put glazing on it and burn it again, before you have another mug. A lot of time and effort. It is easier to prevent it from falling. That is what we higher beings are doing. We are 'catching tea-mugs'. Even Dormammu, in his dark dimension, 'catches tea-mugs', because, despite his dimension being almost uninhabitable for humans, because you are on a very low energy level, it is still a dimension with matter and not chaos.”

 

Karl Mordo was a powerful enemy and what he began to do in Kamar-Taj, namely to combine the 'Western Science' with the 'Magic Science', making tools to control the magic like the sling-rings and other things, he took that to another level.

 

Doctor Strange had mocked them a bit back then, as he had arrived at Kamar-Taj and had understood about 'Science' and 'Magic Science' and the differences and similarities between them and had asked, “Where are the aeroplanes or the computers of the Magic Science? Why are you stuck in the medieval times? Writing by hand on parchment? I understand that precautions have to be made and that you just can't write down spells on a computer and print it, as it would probably give the printer legs and it would run away. But we have learned to handle poisonous matter and radioactive matter in the Western Science, so why can't it be done with Magic as well?”

 

 

And Mordo had since come a long way. He had decided that there were too many uncontrolled sorcerers on Earth and they had either to be controlled strictly or have their powers removed. Pangborn was Mordo's first victim and since that, Mordo stole the power from all the potentials and sometimes even from apprentices and masters, if he decided that they didn't control themselves well enough. He was from a time – he was more than 500 years old - from a time, where societies were more rigid. And he firmly believed, that sorcerers should be under a very rigid control and obey every law, written down in those ancient times. Even The Ancient One had understood that laws and rules sometimes had to be bent and twisted a bit, if Earth should be protected.

 

And it was as if Mordo had been blinded by his own ambition and strict rules. He hated Doctor Strange and refused to see that Doctor Strange's more unorthodox approach had saved Earth more than once.

 

Somehow Mordo had lost focus and believed that obeying old and dusty rules was more important than protecting Earth against threats from other dimensions, realms and beings.

The rules had been given by deities like Vishanti and Mordo firmly believed that they had anticipated everything and Earth would be safe, if everybody just obeyed the laws to the letter.

 

Mordo had resented The Ancient One for drawing energy from Dormammu's Dark Dimension, to keep herself young, and he hadn't understood the difference between what she had done and what Kaecilius had done. Doctor Strange understood the difference and it lay in the motives. T.A.O. did it because of several good motives: to get herself to a specific place in the future and to preserve her knowledge, so Earth could be saved. That is why T.A.O was never compromised by the power, but Kaecilius was destroyed by it, because he did it mostly to gain power for himself. He had said to Doctor Strange, during their confrontation in the New York Sanctum, that he had done it in order to 'defeat Death', because death wouldn't exist in the Dark Dimension. But to continue living as a 'mindless one' could not be called life. And Kaecilius had thought, that he could gain a higher position in the Dark Dimension, and not become a slave.

 

 

 

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

Doctor Strange could, as a very skilled sorcerer, be able to draw energy even from the Chaos-realms. But only as the very last resort, and he always knew that he had a price to pay for it.

 

He called it to 'be sullied' and the first time it happened, he genuinely thought that he could manage. Only Agamotto's interference and scolding made him come to his senses in time and made it possible for him to find a way back to his own true self.

 

At a few occasions, Doctor Strange had to let himself get possessed by 'Demons' – creatures from darker realms and he turned into a very dark version of himself. He had always a tether back to the green infinity-stone – the time-stone - and had always managed to 'clean' himself afterwards. Sometimes with the help of T.A.O. who had stayed near Earth and in her ethereal appearance, until she became a portal for dangerous forces and chose to be absorbed into Eternity's 'body'.

 

'Eternity' was the mightiest being in the Galaxy. In the Milky Way. But not in the Universe. Because the being, who had thought the Universe into existence, had no one above and no one beside itself. And 'Eternity' had siblings. Both in the Galaxy itself and then every galaxy had their own version of beings like 'Eternity'. Eternity was a being, an existence, who was on one side its own and on another side consisted of every single life-form in the Galaxy. Doctor Strange would often refer to it as 'he', which of course was a bit crazy, since gender only meant something for beings on such lower energy and dimension-levels as the levels, where humans lived. But the voice it chose to communicate with such an inferior being as a human, was always a male voice. Doctor Strange did know of course, that the voice was only in his mind – in his head. But it was easier to refer to 'Eternity' as a 'he'.

 

Doctor Strange had met that mighty being at a few occasions and it had been frightening every time. Most of the times Agamotto had been present and had protected Steven's fragile human body against the powerful energy from Eternity.

 

The first time, they had met, Eternity had sort of implied that he was 'God' – and Doctor Strange had just listened and had thought to himself, “That being is bragging....there is no way that this being can be the being, who thought this Universe into existence. Despite it being able to destroy me any second.”

 

And Doctor Strange later learned that despite 'Eternity' being the mightiest being in the Galaxy, that was exactly the clue....'in the Galaxy'. There was of course no one over God and no one beside God. And 'Eternity' had both siblings in the Galaxy, and of course in every other Galaxy in the Universe. 'Eternity' was just one of many beings.

 

The last time Doctor Strange had seen and been confronted with Eternity, was as Doctor Strange had been summoned by Eternity.

 

Doctor Strange had – as so often before, when he had felt sullied, travelled to Mount Athos – the isolated peninsula, where only monks lived and only men were allowed. He had chosen the Dionysiou Monastery because it reminded him a bit of Kamar-Taj. The first time he had visited, the monks had been relatively old and all in all on the whole peninsula there had only been less than a 1000 monks and only a few laymen. Over the years more monks had come to live there. As a part of the growing mental awakening in which Kamar-Taj and the Sanctums had a part.

 

Doctor Strange had got the permit and had been sailed to Athos and the Abbot of the Dionysiou Monastery had welcomed him as a visitor to the 'retreats' but had asked if Doctor Strange was a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church, when Strange had asked for permission to stay longer than the normal male tourists.

Doctor Strange had confessed that he hardly could be call 'Christian', but that he often had a conversation with an angel (That was what beings like 'Agamotto' had been called in ancient times by humans) and the Abbot wanted to know more about that and Doctor Strange had been allowed to stay.

 

He and the Abbot had a lot of good discussions and Doctor Strange could tell that he knew for sure that humans had a soul and there were beings so much mightier than humans and that prayers actually helped protecting Earth. That the way the monks had chosen to live, did help to build a barrier against the worst enemies attacking Earth...or at least most of the time.

 

Over the years, as Doctor Strange often visited that small monastery, he would be welcomed. Doctor Strange and the Abbot agreed on disagreeing, even if Doctor Strange found it a bit strange that they would still cling to a religion, that had been proven wrong. Their versions of God was, even if it was easier to understand such a 'small' and limited God, their version of God was too small. The powers of their Christian God was more like the powers of Eternity. But even 'he' was just a small and limited creature compared to the being that had thought the Universe into existence. And Doctor Strange only knew about that being – the Creator – because Agamotto sometimes had said something. And thus maybe shared some knowledge that Doctor Strange wasn't supposed to know.

_________________________

 

Doctor Strange had been Sorcerer Supreme, 'Protector of Earth' for a long time. More than 20 years. The Sanctums had been rebuild. Apprentices and Masters were again living in Temples, in Kamar-Taj and the in the Sanctums......and Karl Mordo hated Doctor Strange with a hate that could burn down cities. Mordo had never been able to defeat Doctor Strange after all. Despite Mordo's many attacks, Doctor Strange had always found a way to escape.....and the reason was Doctor Strange's ability 'to think out of the box'......to find solutions, because Mordo had lacked imagination to anticipate that move or that way out.

 

Wong had been lethally ill and had been saved by Doctor Strange and the weird substance the 'Space-slug' had had in it's possession, the Otkid's Elixir, before Doctor Strange had defeated it and ...well actually stolen the elixir. Doctor Strange had to fight one of his old colleagues, Nicodemus West, who had made another man steal the elixir and he had almost killed Doctor Strange with a bullet from a common pistol. Doctor Strange wasn't protected by his magic then. Nicodemus had given the thief means to render the magic almost useless. And Doctor Strange's life had been saved by the 'Nightnurse' ('The Oath') under circumstances very similar to when Christine had saved him after Kaecilius' attack.

 

Doctor Strange fought Nicodemus and won, but the flask and been crushed and there was just a drop left of the Elixir. Enough to make an analyses of it and make a cure for every disease....or enough to save Wong, but not both. And Doctor Strange chose Wong.

 

Shortly after, Earth was attacked and Doctor Strange had to fight them alone. Wong was too weakened and the other Masters and apprentices were busy elsewhere and Doctor Strange had again used the chaos-force to defeat the demons attacking Earth.

 

And now he was back on the monastery on Athos, trying to clean himself mentally from the powers from the Chaos. It wasn't easy and required a lot of mental effort. It could be compared to an addict getting clean, but 100 times worse. And the addiction was both mentally and physically. To be able to wield so much force, to be able to feel so invincible and strong – and so powerful. To be able to do something just with a snip of your fingers. Such a feeling was addictive. And after having used it once....the temptation to use it a second time was almost unbearable. Even if it felt like ripping yourself apart. Because the rush of such feeling was almost worth it.

 

Doctor Strange always said that the recovery after the car crash and the years after with his hurting hands, they were 'just a stroll in the park' compared to what he had to go through to get rid of the temptations from the chaos-force. But he had to...otherwise even such a small being on such a low energy-level as a human could compromise the stability of the Universe. Albeit on a very small scale...so he could compromise the very safety of the Earth, that he had fought so hard to defend.

 

He had stayed in his cell and had meditated. He had enjoyed the calmness from the monks and their prayers and he had worked hard to get rid of the last tendrils of the chaos-power. It wasn't easy to let go. The power was so immense and easy to use – it is always so much easier to obtain chaos than order and Doctor Strange fought the temptation the whole way. He knew he had to. Because other sorcerers than him had been tempted through time – and the descriptions of what happened to them, if they didn't manage to get rid of the temptation – well, let us just say that what happened to Kaecilius and his followers was nothing compared to that.

 

Agamotto hadn't been there as he finally felt that he was 'clean'. Normally Agamotto would be standing outside the monastery in his human appearance and ask, with a smirk, if Doctor Strange was ready. But he had mentioned something about being busy and that Doctor Strange could manage on his own, so Doctor Strange hadn't expected him to be there. It would have been nice, if he had, because he could have brought the sling ring and his clothes and Cloak. Doctor Strange had been in 'civilian clothing' and had brought nothing with him. Just normal clothes.

 

The moment Doctor Strange sat foot on the road, that would lead him to the ferry, he was lifted away and was teleported to the place where he had seen Eternity before. Thank God he was fast and managed to protect himself with a magic shield. Eternity never understood that a fragile human body couldn’t tolerate the power from such a mighty being and even if Eternity wasn't God, he was still on such a high energy-level that a human body would shatter if it was unprotected.

 

And then Eternity told Doctor Strange that he was to be tested and the future of Humanity and Earth would depend of the result. Despite Doctor Strange being such an unworthy creation. Lower than a bacteria. Humans were 'just bacteria on a dust-particle in God's attic'..That was the expressions 'he' used. Eternity mocked their use of limited 'flesh-brains'. But what would he expect? 'He' took of course words out of Doctor Strange's mind, as 'he' always did, as such a being would have no idea what a 'bacteria' was, nor an 'attic'. Eternity had spoken with the disgust, 'he' never tried to conceal, when 'he' spoke to Doctor Strange. And it always confused Doctor Strange. What did Eternity expect from a being, who just had divided from apes 2,5 million years ago? And who had been using stone-tools only 3000 years ago? And yet Eternity spoke as if Humans should have developed faster.

 

After the message about the test, Doctor Strange was moved to some sort of arena in order to fight.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

After Eternity had offended the human race and had been extremely vague about the nature of the test, Doctor Strange felt himself fall – and land with a thud on some strange cold black sand(?). He had quickly summoned a shield around himself, not knowing what to expect. And had hurried to get up on his two legs. Oh Dear. Hi missed Cloak so much, but he was only wearing civilian clothing – and Cloak was hopefully safe in New York. But in a situation like this, Cloak had saved his life so many times, watching his back.

 

Doctor Strange looked around. He was on a circular place and something, he couldn't recognize at the first glance, was surrounding the circular place and some beings were watching(?) him. He couldn't really tell. They looked weird. As if they had heard about tentacles and bodies and limbs and eyes, but really hadn't understood how they should be connected. Apparently there were no order in which they were connected as bodies......and no method in the way they might perceive the world. With eyes(?) or ears(?) or something entirely different. And the stench. They reeked of decaying vegetables. A sweet and and the same time rotten smell, together with something more artificial, like burning rubber. And furthermore was the colours they had so confusing. Almost nausea-inducing together with that pungent smell.

 

Doctor Strange thought to himself that those monsters had an insane amount of toothed tentacles and toothed limbs - and he could feel that they poked and touched his defence barrier – and weakened it. So – the best defence is an attack - and he latched out. He wasn't going to go down without fighting. The fate of Earth and Humans depended on his ability to fight and win!

 

And the fight began and continued with attacks and defend-moves on both sides. Doctor Strange lost track of time. He felt as if he had been fighting for hours.

 

The monsters were able to get through his shield and he had wounds, but he had managed to hurt some of them, too. If the liquid that oozed out of their limbs(?) was some sort of blood.

 

He had made a fierce counter-attack and he had actually heard some of them scream and they tried to get away from him. He felt triumph – that he – alone and against an overwhelming superior force – still could have a chance to win – and thus give Earth another chance. He couldn't really care if the fate of the planet of those monsters would be altered. They were demons after all. Evil creatures.

 

And then Doctor Strange saw something that made him pause. One of the monsters had picked up a smaller monster, protected it and had tried to run away. As Doctor Strange noticed that with one of the monsters and he turned around, he saw it again and again. And he stopped attacking. Because he suddenly realised something: Maybe they were not the monsters. Maybe he was.

 

He could suddenly see them differently. Oh yes....they were still looking really weird and were smelling awfully, but maybe that was just his perception that wasn't good enough? Maybe the reason for their oddity was that he could only perceive them as the 4-dimension creature he was. Maybe they just lived in more dimensions than 4, and that was the reason he really couldn't see them?

 

And maybe they were just 'normal people' living in a small village, cursed with the possibility of monsters dropping from the sky every now and then, landing in the middle of their market place in the middle of their village and they would have to fight them in order to survive?

 

Who had given Doctor Strange the right to doom them? Didn't they have just as much right to live as Earth and Humans?

 

Doctor Strange knelt down in the sand, overwhelmed by the feeling of guilt. He had no right to judge them, just because they were not humans. And to be honest: he had stated the attack.

 

He bowed his head and waited.

 

He could feel that they poked at and touched his shield and weakened it. But he didn't rebuild it, and he didn't move.

 

One of the smaller monsters came closer. He could hear a murmur from the others. Maybe they had seen that before – an apparently surrender as a trick – and it was always the younger ones, who still believed in good things and had faith. And maybe the grown ups tried to warn the young one?

 

A toothed tentacle touched his thigh, where he had a wound. It took a few drops of his blood and moved the tentacle to some place on its body. The mouth?

 

The murmur grew louder.

 

Doctor Strange lifted his hand slowly and touched the tentacle and it curled itself around his finger. He didn't really know what to expect.

 

Would it rip off his finger and would that be the signal for everybody to attack? He wouldn't live long after that. He sighed and accepted what ever might happen.

 

“I am so sorry, Earth and humans – my friends. But I can't kill those 'monsters'. Not even if the price is your life. I have no right to do so.”, whispered doctor Strange and a single tear ran down his cheek.

 

The tentacle touched his cheek, just as carefully as Cloak had done so many years ago...and Doctor Strange smiled at that memory. Cloak had been such a good friend and companion.

 

And now he just waited. Bowed his head and closed his eyes.

 

He could feel – and smell – that the others came closer and braced himself for the attacks. But they never came.

 

He opened his eyes again and looked around. They were just standing there. Looking – if that was what they were doing – at him. Some of them carrying smaller versions. Children? It was totally silent.....and then they just faded away.

 

_________________

 

Doctor Strange had apparently ended the test, but not without injuries and suddenly found himself in front of Eternity again. Agamotto was there too and he was angry. Shouting something at Eternity about 'it being too fucking early and what was he thinking about?!' And then he discovered that Doctor Strange was back again. Doctor Strange now expected that he and Earth and humans now would be eliminated, and was very confused as Agamotto hurried to bring them back to Earth...to the New York Sanctum Sanctorum.

Doctor Strange told what had happened and he saw to his astonishment an expression of utterly bewilderment and pride on Agamotto's face.

 

Then he was told that he had passed the test as one of the youngest races, not alone in the Galaxy, but in the whole Universe. Ever. No one had passed that test being only 150.000 years old as a species. The fastest had been Agamotto's race many billion of years ago, but they had been more than 500.000 years old, as they passed the test. Most species would be more than a million years old, when being tested. And not all would pass in their first try. Even the species, that later left flesh and became Eternity and his siblings, they had been almost one million years old, back then, when the Universe had been young, as they had passed the test. The test was most certainly not about winning, but about showing mercy and empathy. And Strange had won by loosing. By showing mercy and empathy. By realising that every life form had a right to live, if they granted others the same right.  

 

And then Strange had been protected by the vast powers of Agamotto, as a microscopic fraction of a very small piece of the huge mind that had thought the Universe into existence – GOD – or the very 'Creator of the Universe' – acknowledged his existence. Even with the protection of Agamotto, Doctor Strange had almost shattered to pieces, despite his own remarkable defences. Both his body and mind felt shattered and burned, even if it was over in a split-second.

 

Agamotto had returned to his human appearance and had smiled, “Not many humans can say that they had seen GOD and survived.”

 

Doctor Strange had smiled back, “No...and all the other ones back on Earth that claimed to have seen GOD, they saw you or your species or maybe even Eternity. And it almost killed them.”

 

Agamotto nodded, “But you are now protected against the harsher species. Buoys will be placed in space and on many realms, to let them know that you are protected.”

 

He paused, “But...but it doesn’t mean that the school-yard bullies will not be there. You humans are too fat a bite just to be left alone....”

 

Doctor Strange shook his head, “I don't know, why we are so interesting.”

 

“But you are. Just believe me, when I say that you are.”, said Agamotto and he didn't elaborate.

 

It took some time and some harsh events, before Agamotto told him, why humans were so interesting and different.

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

The next problem they had to face was a big threat. It had been revealed to Agamotto...and now he told Doctor Strange about the beings approaching Earth. Despite the buoys. And they were a bit more than 'school-yard-bullies', because to such a mighty being as the Creator, it was not easy to distinguish between different levels of threats .

 

Earth had now mighty allies. Dormammu was one of them. Doctor Strange had never expected that he could ever come to say that, but Doctor Strange's wife, Clea, was a being from the dark Dimension and Dormammu was her uncle...and Doctor Strange had helped them. Dormammu told Doctor Strange that he had gained Dormammu's respect during the whole '”I have come to bargain”-battle...and even more afterwards, as Dormammu had realised that Doctor Strange – and other humans – were not just 'ants', but someone who should and could be more useful as allies, than slaves.

 

Doctor Strange could have tried to look out in the future, using the time-stone, but he knew that it should only be used with the utmost care. So he didn't use it to see the outcome of the battle with the demons.

 

TAO had told him about the dangers, that using the time-stone could generate, when she was still around in her ethereal appearance, before she became a medium for dangerous forces from other dimensions, and had preferred to end being a personality and had accepted to be a part of Eternity. As every life-form would be at one point.

 

_______________________

 

Doctor Strange and TAO had been at Kamar-Taj and had been sitting outside. It had been after her death, and after the fight with Dormammu. But only shortly. The Sanctums hadn't been rebuild yet....and so many masters and apprentices had died. Stephen had thought for a long time, that she wouldn't be around any more and had accepted that Wong would continue his education. He wasn't a 'Sorcerer Supreme' yet. Not even a sorcerer....Stephen Strange was still an apprentice. So it had been a pleasant surprise as she had waited for him at Kamar-Taj.

 

And TAO had begun to talk, “Every time a sorcerer use the possibility to travel in time – even if they do not interact, but just observe, it will have consequences. And the further away form the present time, the bigger the consequences.”

 

TAO had stopped and had looked at Doctor Strange, “If you would ever be thinking about going back in time to prevent – your sister's death – or your parent's – or the car-crash, that ruined your hands...and at the same time saved your soul. Then don't.”

 

She touched her head, where there had been scars, as she still had a body, “It is not worth it and sometimes makes things 100 times worse. We are not being allowed to see everything. We are not supposed to. And our limited brains can't see all the possibilities at the same time. We can see something though. I saw that my successor would be a male. With emotional and physical scars and not from Asia. I thought for a long time that it was Karl Mordo. And I made a mistake regarding him. His story is not mine to tell, but he came to Kamar-Taj as a child. Maybe that was the reason, why I was too soft with him. I forgot to teach him something important: I taught him how to fight the demons in the outside world, but forgot to teach him how to fight the temptations in his own mind. Then for a while, I thought it to be Kaecilius. He came as a broken man. Had seen his village and his pregnant wife getting killed in the most gruesome way. And he had scars too. Karl and Kaecilius were very different from each other: where Karl was very skilled, he was at the same time very rigid in his mind-set. Believing too much in laws and rules. Kaecilius was almost the opposite: very skilled too, but unfortunately believing that only a very few rules would apply to him.”

 

She sighed, “And I underestimated him until it was almost too late.”

 

She looked at Doctor Strange, “And then I discovered you and forced you to come to Kamar-Taj and forced you to become my apprentice.”

 

She paused again and made a gesture towards the landscape around Kamar-Taj, “Well. Time for some education – and don't misunderstand me, you don't need much. But at lest I can help you with this. Looking back in time, it is a bit like looking at a landscape. And yet not. Our languages do not have words for what I have seen. And the information is limited, you can only see, what was done – and happened - and a vague silhouette of what might have been. It takes quite an effort to make that 'might have been' come true. And you never know what consequences it might stir up in this 'now' and other places in the Universe.”

 

She paused and looked at Doctor Strange, “It is dangerous to try to alter the past. I did learn that the hard way. To alter the path of the future is easier and not so dangerous. But there are limitations there too. Let me ask you: the first time you used the time-stone. What did you do?”

 

Doctor Strange frowned, “I created time-loop bracelets, limited in time and space and watched an apple getting whole again. Then rot. Then being as it had been, as I had eaten a few bites. And then whole again. Why?”

 

“And you concentrated your will about the apple?”

 

“Of course! The book's warnings were very strict about that! I am not a child, Master!”

 

She nodded, “You are not my apprentice any more, even if you still are Wong's, but not for long....and soon you will have surpassed me and him. So – don't call me 'master'. Just TAO will do. And your skill-set is impressive. You have surpassed my greatest expectations. That is where I made the mistake about you. I limited you and held you back and didn't allow you to learn in the tempo, you were able to. I underestimated you.......And you managed to defeat Dormammu, while you were still an apprentice. So impressive. You had the aid of the time-stone, but not Agamotto. I know he was away, so what did you do?”

 

“Created a limited time-loop. A very limited one in space and in time. Only a small part of his dark dimension and only him and me. I hadn't expected him to take so long to surrender. And fortunately I didn't know that he would kill me more than 2011 times, before he gave up.”

 

Doctor Strange turned his head and looked at TAO, “I had a lot of time to regret that I had made the loop as long as half an hour.”

 

He shuddered, “When he found out, I sometimes continued living during all those minutes, before I finally died and was freed......and had to start all over.”

 

He paused and looked at her and said, “I still have nightmares.....”

 

She smiled at him, “That is the reason, why you became my successor. I don't think I could have done that!”

 

He smiled back, “But you saw your own death and yet you choose to walk that path...”

 

“Because it was the only possibility. Those possibilities, where I survived, didn't show a defeated Dormammu. Even if I couldn't see it clearly. If you ever try to look into the future.....then you must know the limitations.”

 

“Tell me.”

 

“Either you can see the greater perspective....just looking at it all from above. Like a bird. You can see all the threads. Lines....oh it is so frustrating that our language don't have the words to describe what the mind sees!”

 

Stephen had closed his eyes, “I think I get the picture. But...I suppose that is is what your brain try to make you see - to make sense of something that we don't have words for? Or brain-capacity to actually see.”

 

“Exactly! I see it as a landscape with moving treads. If you look behind you, they are there and if you turn around, they continue. They are thin, almost invisible, but they have colours nevertheless....and you always recognize your own. They continue all the way to the horizon, and you can see that some just end and new are 'born'. If you look into the landscape, there will be places where the treads disappear into a blurred place. A greyness. And if you try to get a closer look, it is just like mist. There is nothing to be seen. Does that make sense?”

 

Doctor Strange nodded and TAO continued, “If you 'land' down on that landscape, your perception of what it is, changes. Now it looks like pieces of paper...or a computer screen. Not always letters. Sometimes pictures. But if you start reading or looking, you'll discover, looking from the corner of your eye, that the pages changes, while you read. Older masters told me – because they didn't know about computers – that they saw it like pages in a book. And the pages would write themselves as they read. And pages would be glued together or open up, depending on what they read or if they read the whole page.”

 

She paused and looked at Doctor Strange, “I think our minds now-a-days can understand it a bit better by seeing it as something on a computer -screen. It is not impossible to imagine things altering, while you are watching.”

 

Doctor Strange did concentrate and then he asked, “Isn't it a bit like the quantum-theory I told you about? That you can't determine the position or the speed of an object – and that the means you use to 'see' an object will change it's position or mass.”

 

TAO nodded, “Yes! Like the picture of an arrow. You told me: if you can see that the arrow is moving, you can't see it clearly. It is blurred. If you can see it clearly, you can't see the movement. It is like that in the 'landscape of the fabric of life'......looking to close, you loose the overview. Keeping the overview, you can't see the details......I...I couldn't see any future for Earth if I continued to live. But a lot of possibilities, if I accepted to die. And I didn't see, that I was able to stay and help you a bit. Not then. I can now. And I know I will have to leave and stop being me at some point. The time, where you will surpass my abilities and really will not need me any more, is close.”

 

She smiled a bit sadly, “You would think that being more than 700 years old, would make it easier to accept death. It is not....and I hope that you can find the strength to do and choose the right thing, if such a situation should occur to you. It will probably.....as crazy as our Universe is.”

 

She rose and smiled at him, “That I had you here as my apprentice. Educating you to be my successor. I think that it was my biggest achievement. I am so proud of you!”

 

And she vanished.

 

Later Doctor Strange would look back at this moment and just wonder how she could have lied so convincingly. Or maybe she didn't really lie. Maybe it had just been himself, who had jumped to conclusions?

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Doctor Strange thought about her words as he prepared to contact Karl Mordo. He had used the time-stone to look out into the future, with the limitations it gave. He had seen possibilities and understood now better what TAO had said the first time, she had pushed his soul-body out if his body. “I see...possibilities..”, she had said, and it had taken him years to understand, that she had actually meant that literally.

 

And he had seen 'possibilities' after the upcoming war with the demons from other realms. Not 'school-yard-bullies', they were much to powerful for that. But at least he had seen that they had a chance. But only if Karl Mordo joined them. He had stolen so much power from 'potentials' and other sorcerers, that he was even more powerful than Doctor Strange. But....he had used a lot of that 'magic power' to make his 'devises' work.

 

He had claimed and gotten back his ancestors property in the South-East part of Europe. The land and the castle his father had been given, as he had saved the life of his king several times. The castle where Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo had grown up....and the castle he had left in a hurry at the age of 6, together with the stable manager and the cook, as the king had died and his father's neighbours had attacked the castle.

 

Karl Mordo had of course faked his papers, because he couldn't convince the authorities that he was in fact the son of that man, who had died in the 14th century. So papers were falsified and Karl Mordo was just a direct heir.

 

As he left Hong Kong and Doctor Strange and Wong with bitter words, he never returned to Kamar-Taj. He returned to his castle in Southern part of Europe. In the Carpathian region and close to the border of now 'Romania', then 'Transylvania'. His heritage was now the title of 'Baron', the castle and some land surrounding it. His father's land had been so much bigger. But Karl Mordo was satisfied that he had managed to get his hands on so much of his heritage. It was better than nothing. He had been hiding the fact that he now was rich and a baron, as he still lived in Kamar-Taj. He didn't think it was TAO's business. He was no longer an apprentice, but a Master. And there were no laws which would forbid a Master to own land and be rich. Maybe because no one had seen that as a possibility.

 

And as if it was taken out of an old black-and-white horror film, he had build an advanced laboratory in the cellar of his castle and had worked for several years, connecting the Magic Science with the Western Science. Just as he had done in Kamar-Taj with the sling-rings – an invention he had made – and now with so many more items. Doctor Strange's goodhearted mockery back then, as he had arrived in Kamar-Taj, had inspired Karl Mordo.

 

At a few occasions he had even used his 'contraptions' to try to steal Doctor Strange's powers – not really realising, that he could endanger Earth's continued existence, if he in any way had succeeded. And again: Karl Mordo's lack of imagination had been his shortcoming in all those cases. Trapping Strange's soul in a impenetrable glass-dome and not realising that the dome didn't have a bottom and Strange could just as easily seep down through the table and escape. Or trapping Strange's soul in a crystal, not realising that Strange could undo every action, using the time-stone.

 

Strange never revealed how much stronger he had become than Karl Mordo, but Strange always felt that he acted a bit like a bigger brother allowing the baby-brother to punch him a bit, because showing all his strength might make Karl Mordo even more obsessed with defeating Doctor Strange.....and Doctor Strange really didn't have time for that.

 

That was the man that Doctor Strange now needed to contact and to make their allied, in order to have a chance against those demons. They were dangerous enough despite the promise that doctor Strange had been given after his test, but as Agamotto had said, “To GOD they might seem relatively harmless – and believe me – there are so many beings so much worse out there. At least you'll have a chance against these.”

 

______________________

 

And Doctor Strange had seen – with those limited powers the time stone would give to such a lower-level-being as a human – that Karl Mordo would be essential, if they should win. And Doctor Strange realised that Karl Mordo was so important, that his own life didn't matter so much in comparison to that. Not as far as he could see out in the future.

 

And that was why he had shown up at Karl Mordo's castle this time. He wasn't so stupid that he came without protection. But he came unarmed. He had ordered Cloak to stay in New York and was just wearing civilian clothing.

 

Karl Mordo had greeted him and had been polite enough. Maybe he had looked into the future with some of his devises as well....and had seen that they would need each other in order to defeat the intruders?

 

Karl had asked – almost ordered – Doctor Strange to use one of his machines. A globe – apparently made of metal, but glowing with a white light. He had showed himself, that it was harmless, but Doctor Strange knew of course that it could be a trap. Just like people could build up a resilience towards arsenic and eat a otherwise lethal dose and poison others eating the same meal, those machines could be totally harmless for Karl Mordo, and nevertheless hurt or even kill Doctor Strange.

 

He had taken a deep breath and had touched it. It turned out that it was an advanced lie-detector and Doctor Strange had made it glow green as he told about the threat towards Earth and how much Karl Mordo was needed – and it had stilled glowed green as Doctor Strange had said, “I know you want an assurance and a promise in order to join us. Name your price and I'll try my best to give it to you.”

 

Karl Mordo had smiled and had said, “I want you. Here. Defenceless - if and when we survive this battle.”

 

Doctor Strange had understood what it could mean. Karl Mordo might want his life. He was still holding the globe in his hand as he said, “I promise. If and when we survive. I swear on the Omnipotent Oshtur, Hoary Hogarth, and Agamotto the All-Seeing.”

 

And the globe had glowed with green light.

 

 


	10. Chapter 10

The battle had been hard. To the point where it could have been called a war. Of course it was nothing compared to what would happen later – with Thanos – but it was bad enough as it was. And Doctor Strange lost his Cloak. The last thing he saw of it was as it clung to several of the demons, preventing them from using their weapons and Cloak was dragged – together with them – back into the realm where from they had arrived. Cloak probably saved a lot of lives by doing so – but Doctor Strange missed it.

 

And then he turned up at Karl Mordo's castle two days after the battle. Just as he had promised. He had said good-bye and had made all sorts of precautions – and had warned Wong. He had wished to warn Agamotto too, but hadn't seen him since they had looked around and had noticed that they had won the battle, all the demons had vanished and Earth once more was safe.

___________________________

 

Karl Mordo had greeted him, but had not hidden that he was very disappointed that Cloak wasn't there. Doctor Strange tried to tell him the same thing, Karl Mordo had told him so many years ago, that the artefacts couldn't be ordered to serve a master. They chose themselves, as Cloak had done so many years ago, as it saw Doctor Strange the first time and had chosen him. Saving his life after they had seen each other for the first time only a few minutes before.

 

Doctor Strange knew that Karl Mordo might harm him, but he hadn't expected what happened. He had thought that Karl Mordo might steal his powers, as he had done to so many potentials and apprentices and a few masters before. But Doctor Strange had underestimated Karl Mordo's hatred.

 

Doctor Strange hadn't expected to be drugged, but Cloak wasn't there to warn him and Karl Mordo had magical skills enough to delude even Doctor Strange – and he drank the tea, after Karl had shown the green glow of the globe as he said, “There is nothing but tea in that tea. I just think we need to talk. That is all. To get the misunderstandings out of the way.”

 

Doctor Strange knew somehow that Karl Mordo was lying, but he couldn't look through the lies, and he had to keep his promise. He had sworn to do so. He had sworn by the three deities Agamotto, Oshtur and Hoggoth – or-the-three-in-one, known as the 'Vishanti'. Not an oath easily broken. And after the second sip, the world went black.

 

 

When he came to his senses, he was tied up to a contraption in the cellar. If it hadn't been so dangerous, he might have laughed. It was as if it was something out of a horror-movie from the 1930ties. A baron – a cellar in a castle– and a lot of ominous looking machinery.

 

Doctor Strange was naked, apart from his pants, and the amulet was still around his neck. There was a primitive but very efficient spell connected to that amulet and only if Doctor Strange allowed it, it could be removed. Doctor Strange was tied to a sort of grid in a spread-eagle-position and Karl Mordo was preparing a bunch of cannulas connected to some sort of machinery.

 

Karl Mordo looked at him with hatred in his eyes and showed him his burned hand.

“I thought you had promised to arrive unarmed?!”

 

Doctor Strange frowned, “I did! But that doesn't mean that you can steal my belongings. The spell is so efficient that you can't even take it from my dead body. And I am not going to give it to you!”

 

Karl Mordo smiled, “You will give it to me – voluntarily – eventually. You will – I can promise you that!”

 

And then he began to put the cannulas deep into Doctor Strange's flesh. One by one. And a weird fluid began to drip into Doctor Strange. It wasn't so bad in the beginning, but then it felt as if he was burning and melting at the same time.

 

And Doctor Strange began to scream.

 

At a point Doctor Strange fainted. Even if he knew of pain and had methods to accept even a great amount of pain without crumbling from it – Dormammu had been a good teacher – there was something about the things, that Karl Mordo did, that got to him. As if his magical powers were melting away.

 

At a point he felt that he was tilted so he now was hanging vertically and he knew that he couldn't survive hanging in his arms like that for long. He tried to push his ethereal being out of his body, as he had done so many times before, but found out that he couldn't. And now he saw that golden light was running in the tubes from all the cannulas embedded deep into his flesh and back to the machinery. The pain wasn't so bad any-more.

 

Karl Mordo came into his point of view. Doctor Strange was so far gone, that he had tunnel-vision and it was pulsating and at the same time there was a high-pitch tone constantly ringing in his ears.

 

“You will have discovered that I have drained you for your magical powers – and at the same time I have drained your life-energy. I am sorry that it can't be avoided...... not now. Your powers are to closely intertwined.”

 

He didn't look as if he was sorry at all. Karl Mordo had an almost manic glee in his eyes and he went closer to Doctor Strange and lifted Strange's head. Strange had so little strength left that he could barely keep his eyes open.

 

“You will find out that you can't push your soul out.....but don't worry. Your soul will be pushed out, when your body dies.”, whispered Karl Mordo.

 

Karl Mordo made a gesture around in the cellar, “And then you will be tethered to this cellar. As long as there is just a tiny part of your dead body left, your soul can't leave this cellar. You are my prisoner!”

 

________________________

 

Doctor Strange could feel how life slowly seeped out of him together with the golden fluid transported by the cannulas and the tubes. The ringing tone in his ears got louder and louder and his vision narrowed. He found it more and more difficult to breathe. But he had strength enough left to realise that Karl Mordo was still trying to get the amulet of his neck. It would remain closed forever if Doctor Strange died, so how was Karl Mordo going to steal it?

 

And then he realised that Karl Mordo was using some of the golden fluid to remove the amulet. His hands were covered in it and they were gloving. Of course! The curse would not be able to distinguish between Doctor Strange's magic and the magic covering Karl Mordo's hands. The signature would be the same. it would be just as if Doctor Strange took of the amulet himself.

 

Karl Mordo had won. Apparently...and for now.

 

And with that thought Doctor Steven Strange felt the last of his magic and life essence being drained out of his body and everything went black.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You didn't think I would let Doctor Strange stay dead for long, did you? He will have to be alive so he can d........Oh never mind.

When he could sense something again, he was floating in the air and was looking at his dead body hanging on that grid. The machinery was still humming, but no fluids were to be seen in the tubes that were still connected to his body. No...not 'body'. Corpse.

 

The ultra thin cord, that normally would connect him to his body, was gone. Just as it had been when TAO had died. So....no life left in his body any-more and no hope...apparently....to return to it again.

 

And Karl Mordo was nowhere to be seen.

 

Somebody cleared his throat and Doctor Strange turned around.

 

It was Agamotto in his human appearance and he made a gesture towards Doctor Strange's dead body as he said, “I didn't expect him to go that far.”

 

Doctor Strange shook his head, “Neither did I. We will have to deal with that later. Hurry, Agamotto, please. We still have things to do!”

 

And Agamotto nodded and left.

 

Doctor Strange began to remove the cannulas from the body. There were no reason to leave them in. Karl Mordo must have taken the fluid with him, since the container on the machine appeared empty.

 

Again Karl Mordo had underestimated him. Just because Karl Mordo couldn't move objects around– or only with great difficulty – whilst in his ethereal appearance – well it didn't mean that Doctor Strange couldn't. But to be fair. Doctor Strange had done that since his early days as apprentice in Kamar-Taj. Leaving his body to sleep, whilst he – as a soul – stayed awake and outside the body to study, and holding real books in his hand and turning the pages. It had only taken him a few hours of practice before he could do that. Maybe Karl Mordo had never needed that and never really tried?

 

Doctor Strange began to look around in the laboratory and then he smiled. Well...if their plan didn't succeed, Doctor Strange wouldn't have to linger long in his 'prison'. Why did Karl Mordo always forget that Stephen Vincent Strange was a man of science? And had attended High School? And – as a lot of teens – had studied how to make explosives - just because you could. And thankfully never did.

 

But Doctor Strange counted at least 20 different components he could use to make a huge explosion. Maybe not enough to destroy the castle, but most certainly enough to burn the cellar down, incinerate every item in that cellar and turn his dead body into a pile of ash.

 

Now Doctor Strange just had to wait and hope that their plan – his and Agamotto's – would work.

 

And whilst he was waiting he could just as well use the time to get a good look at all those contraptions of Karl Mordo's.

 

__________________________

 

It turned out that he had three days to get a good look, before Agamotto returned.

 

As Agamotto came down the stairs to the cellar, Doctor Strange was looking at some small orbs, containing droplets of Magic matter.

 

Agamotto was smiling.

 

Doctor Strange smiled back and made a gesture towards his dead body, who was still attached to the grid, but now lying horizontally and covered with some sort of blanket. The temperature in the cellar was rather cold, since Doctor Strange had turned off the heating.

 

“I did find something to keep it a bit cooler, but I had expected you to be back a bit sooner. I don't think 'I' am fresh any-more.”, Doctor Strange said.

 

Agamotto lifted the blanket, a cooling device powered by one of the small orbs.

 

“No...Karl Mordo was a hard nut to crack, but I managed.”, he explained.

 

Doctor Strange frowned, “Did you torture him?”

 

“No!. I didn't do anything to him, that I hadn't done to you before. But when you learned within hours, it took him three days to see himself clearly.”

 

“Where is he now?”

 

“Sitting in one of his living-rooms. Drinking whisky and wondering why something he had desired for so many years, could backfire so spectacular.”

And Agamotto held the amulet of the 'All-Seeing-Eye-of-Agamotto' in his hand, “This 'All-Seeing-Eye-of-Agamotto' is yours again as soon as your body is alive once more. He couldn't get it off his neck fast enough.”

 

Doctor Strange smiled back, “You do know that I really hate that name you have given yourself?”

 

_______________________________

 

Doctor Strange watched as Agamotto revived his dead body. He had been advised not to enter his body before Agamotto had finished and he was just floating in the air in his ‘ethereal appearance’, while he was waiting. Agamotto had said that Doctor Strange’s body would feel a bit odd, because Agamotto would have to alter it a bit. After all...a lot of the cells and tissue would be dead and should be removed after the body had been hanging on the wall as a corpse for more than two days.

“Is that what you told the other bloke?”, asked Doctor Strange.

“What?”

“The other bloke you revived. More than 2100 years ago? You have always said that you didn’t want to know what I thought and you didn’t want to look into my head.....so I’ll have to use words. Was that what you told him?That you’d have to alter him?”

“Who?”

“Oh...come on. You know who I mean. But you had another name then. Not so - so cheap-market-place-third-rate-magician name...”....’Agamotto’. I've always thought it to be such a melodramatic name. You went by the name ‘Holy Spirit’ then I think.”

Silence.....

“How long have you known?”, asked Agamotto.

“Well...since the last encounter with Eternity. You told a bit too much then, I think.”

The young man, the appearance that Agamotto sometimes would chose to have, smiled, “Or maybe you are just too smart and I’ve underestimated you?”

“So I’m right then?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm...Jesus. Son of Josef. Was he human at all?”

“No...only partly.”

“Hmm. ‘GOD’s son’....He wouldn’t have been able to be on such a low energy level, if he had been the offspring of GOD. So what was he?”

“A part of the Creator - like every living being...”

Doctor Strange looked at Agamotto and said, “Don’t give me that bull-shit. You’ve just admitted that he was only partly human. What was the rest?”

Agamotto sighed, “You haven’t figured it out yet?”

“One of you...one of the Guardians? Or at least partly. I know you are three: Oshtur, Hogarth, and you Agamotto.”

“Yes. We were the highest beings. But there were and are others as well. We are not the only ones of our race. And we are all guardians. Because as one of the few species in the Universe, we can travel between almost every energy level and every dimension. That is why we are Guardians, and I have to admit that you Homo Sapiens Sapiens, as I’ve mentioned before, is one of the most interesting species.”

“Even if we are just bacteria on a dust-particle in the Creator’s attic?”

Agamotto shook his head, “He really got to you, Eternity, with his words, didn’t he? Let’s just keep that picture: The universe is the house, which the Creator has made. ‘Eternity’ and all his siblings are caretakers. Just like 'light' is waves and particles at the same time, ‘Eternity’’s consciousness is 'his' own and yet 'he' consists of all life. It transcendences every dimension and a lot of the energy-levels, but despite his wish.....’he’....oh gender is so irrelevant, but let us still use ‘he’ about him. Despite his wish and his megalomania, he is not the Creator. Not even close, as you found out. He is like the man, who says he has made a ‘home-made cake’. But he hasn’t made the hen that laid the eggs. He hasn’t made the planet, that had the soil that made the wheat, that made the flour....and so on.”

“But you are closer to the Creator, than you have told me before? That is why you could protect me as I was 'seen' by the Creator?”, asked Strange.

“Yes.”

“Then explain more about ‘the house’ so my simple and primitive flesh-computer can understand it!”

“He offended you deeply, Eternity, didn’t he? Well. We - my race - are the adults living in that house and you humans....”

“Yeah, I know. We are lower than the ants in the garden...”

“No, you are...you are the baby sitting on the floor in the living room. Not able to keep himself dry, wetting his diaper. Drooling and not able to speak. Something yet to be, to develop. A budding being. But a race developing so fast, that is has never been seen before. That baby sitting there, surrounded by its toys: building blocks and stuffed plush animals. Suddenly that baby, drooling and with no teeth, pushes the building blocks together and writes Einstein’s equation, Pythagoras’ theorem and pi. You shouldn’t be able to do that...not yet.”

 

Agamotto paused and then he continued, “Oh dearest me, Doctor Strange. You went from petroleum lamps to Moon landing in less than 60 years. That is a development that normally lasts ten or even hundred times as long for other races. Evens the fastest races. And yes, that is one of the reasons why the ‘Creator’ noticed you. You are unique.....and only a few times before has the ‘Creator’ bothered to notice such primitive races. My race was noticed almost 6 billion years ago and Eternity’s race 4 billion years ago.”

“Oh..” was everything Doctor Strange managed to say before he paused a few seconds and continued, “How old is the Universe?”

Agamotto smiled, “You didn’t get that totally right. You forgot about the magic matter and the black matter. The universe was created from nothing and was ‘thought’ into existence and created more than 25 billion years ago.”

“Well, we only miscalculated with about 8 billion years. Not so bad for apes just descending from the jungle-trees.”, smiled Doctor Strange.

Agamotto smiled back, “No...rather impressive actually.”

Doctor Strange looked at him a few seconds before he said, “I still do not understand why such a superior being as the very Creator of the Universe - ’GOD’ actually. - why would ‘he’ take any interest in us ‘apes’?”

“Because you are the fastest developing race in the whole history of the Universe and it gives promises that you could develop so much more and that before the Universe ends. My race was promising - and so was Eternity’s - but not promising enough...”

“Are you telling me that we have the potential to become...more...than Eternity’s race...even more than yours?!”

“I am.”

“I don’t understand. You are so much more than us?”

“Well - imagine a night-sky. Being away from the light-pollution from cities. If you look up, there are lot of stars. Some of them are just pin-pricks of light. Yes, I know they are roaring bulbs of flaming gasses. But seen from Earth they are just pinpricks. That is how life is, every single living being. Even the smallest bacterium is such a pinprick of life. When life develops it becomes candles in the dark, and when the life, the consciousness, becomes self-aware: ‘I am me and you are you’...like elephants and dolphins and apes are...it is a bonfire. Your ancestors: Homo Heidelbergensis, the Denisovian and the Neanderthals. They were bigger bonfires. But you humans...even if you still are limited to ‘matter’, have to stay inside your head and to rely on your ‘flesh-computers’, you are so much more: You are a raging forest-fire. That is why so many other species are interested in conquering Earth. To have that potential - from more than 7 billion brains. - and that from a race that doesn’t even know how strong they are. What a weapon to have, if you can control it!”

“I still do not understand. We are just a bit smarter than chimpanzees. We are still 99,5 percent chimp. Why are we so different? I admit that our technical development is amazing, but you are talking about our brains. Or minds. And I do not understand why we are so unique?”, wanted Doctor Strange to know.

Agamotto shook his head, “I do not know _why,_ but I know _how_ and _when_ : Almost 160.000 years ago a small group of humans were isolated in Eastern Africa. Not more than 8000 individuals. We guardians are not allowed to intervene, but we did help a bit, as they were close to die out at several occasions. A little push to bring prey closer and a pull to prevent larger animals to come to close to the settlements at night. North of this piece of land, there was a desert, south too. To the east an ocean and to the west a great rift valley, that they couldn’t cross. Only the smartest of the smartest survived.....and in a settlement a little girl was smarter than all the others. She found new ways of getting and finding food. Her brothers were smart too and it happened in a lot of settlements all over that area. They had so much success, that after less than 5000 years it was only descendants from those smart people, who had survived. They were the first Homo Sapiens Sapiens, and their brains were altered forever. Your ancestors, humans, you, 'Homo Sapiens Sapiens'......you all came from that little group of less than 8000 individuals. Why that happened, we do not know, just that it happened.”

_______________________

Doctor Strange was still floating in the air thinking about what Agamotto had told, as Agamotto told him that his body was ready and Doctor Strange could return.

Just as Agamotto had told, the body did feel a bit different. Somehow stronger.

“I’ve given you some of my substance, “explained Agamotto. “I do not need all of it, since I’m living in 3 dimensions now...”

“Four...” corrected Doctor Strange automatically.

“Four...” answered Agamotto.

____________________________

Doctor Strange dressed in his clothes, that Mordo had taken from him two days ago, before he killed him. They were similar to the blue tunic and trousers Doctor Strange had worn since he became sorcerer, more than 50 years prior. Doctor Strange remembered how the cloak of levitation had chosen him....and he missed it. He had missed it, since he lost it in the battle against the demons, that had threatened to destroy Earth.

To Doctor Strange's utter surprise he felt the familiar feeling around his shoulders as soon as he had finished dressing himself.

“What the fu**? I thought it was destroyed?”

Agamotto smiled, “Not totally. A part of it was still - well 'alive' would be a funny word, but maybe correct never the less. I cured it/her/him - and here it is.”

Doctor Strange turned around and looked at Agamotto, “Thank you. It has saved my life so many times. - and I missed it. Did you ever find out what it was or where from it came? Because ...it is sentient, but can't really communicate.”

“Do you really want to know?”

Doctor Strange looked at Agamotto with a frown, “I suppose it is a four-dimensional appearance of a multidimensional being?”

“It is....and believe me. You wouldn't like to know how it really looks.”

Doctor Strange turned around, “Well, I suppose that an obedient demon, who had grown fond of human beings, could be a worse servant or rather friend...”

 

And Agamotto just looked at Doctor Strange as he walked up the stairs from the cellar with the cloak billowing behind him.

“Well, I never........” Agamotto thought, and continued, “Note to myself. Don't ever underestimate Doctor Strange again!”

 

 

 

 


	12. chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit long this time. A lot of things need to be explained. And it will continue in the next chapter.

Agamotto stayed in the cellar, using his human appearance to look around and Doctor Strange went up the stairs from the cellar to find Karl Mordo. Strange had removed the Cloak and had folded it and had put the amulet with the Eye of Agamotto on top if it. Cloak was sort of sleeping. At least it was passive right now, and maybe it needed to rest?

 

Doctor Strange really needed to talk to Karl Mordo. The man must have been rather shaken by now. Agamotto had assured Doctor Strange that Karl Mordo was in no danger of 'doing something stupid', but that he had yanked the amulet of his neck, as soon as he had been able to do so. Maybe he had thought that he could get rid of Agamotto being in his mind like that? He had been eager enough to take the amulet and wear it around his neck as soon as he had taken it from Doctor Strange's dead body. Maybe he had thought it would have given him immense power? What a surprise it must have been to him, as Agamotto entered his mind and began to lecture him.

 

Doctor Strange knew how it had been to be under the harsh light of Agamotto's mind. Nothing would stay hidden. Every little dark secret – every little bad feeling: jealousy, hate, arrogance, greed... - every single one of them would be picked out of their dark corner in the mind and dragged out into the harsh light. Kicking and screaming and when they were out there to be seen and in no way being able to hide any-more, then the hard work began: to accept that those feelings were a part of you and you had to work hard on getting them under control.

 

And it was not a pleasant feeling. Rather terrifying actually. But Doctor Strange had tried it more than once......and he knew his own darks sides – and his good qualities as well. He had known them since he travelled towards Dago in Tibet. The life on the bottom of New York and his stay in the slum in Kolkata had left nothing unseen in his own mind. Agamotto couldn't show him anything Doctor Strange hadn't known about himself already.

 

But Karl Mordo? It must have been devastating for him. He had lived in a world of lies about his own excellence for so many years – and had thought his powers to be on level with Doctor Strange's. And had thought that his deeds were justified, just because people didn't obey the rules strictly.

 

Little had he known that Doctor Strange had anticipated to have his powers robbed from him – even if Doctor Strange had not anticipated to get killed - and Doctor Strange had left more than ¾ of his powers back in the Sanctum Sanctorum in New York. Karl Mordo had not been the only person, who had experimented in finding a connection between Western science and Magic science and Wong and Doctor Strange, and later other 'Masters of the Mystic Art', had found ways to extract and contain their powers. It could sometimes be wise not to be too strong......and other times it would be essential to have access to all of it at once. Their powers would be contained in small orbs – a bit like those Karl Mordo had made as well.

 

But the cannulas and tubes and the liquid. That had been a surprise. And his death had been a surprise too.

 

Doctor Strange reached the top of the stairs and was now standing in the big entrance-hall of the castle. Or rather: the entrance-hall in one of the wings of the castle.

 

He could see light from one of the rooms in the other end of the hall, so he expected Karl Mordo to be there. There was no trace of the staff...maybe they had been dismissed – or maybe they were clever enough to know they were not wanted and had just disappeared. Maybe even totally from the castle.

 

Doctor Strange walked towards the room with the light. Pushed the huge door open with his elbow and could see some old-fashioned armchairs as shadows in front of a flickering fire. A fireplace with burning wood. How fitting to a centuries old castle.....and how out-dated.

Doctor Strange approached the armchairs and as he walked around them, he could see that Karl Mordo was sitting in on of them. Apparently unaffected – and with a glass of some amber-colored fluid in his right hand. Only if you looked close, you could see that the colour of his skin on his face had an unhealthy hue of brownish-gray colour to it and that his hand was shaking ever so slightly.

 

“May I?” asked Doctor Strange and put down the Cloak in one of the armchairs and then he made a gesture towards the old-fashioned drinks trolley.

 

Karl Mordo looked up at him and paled even further. Then he pulled himself together and said, “I am hardly in a position, where I can deny you anything, am I?.....Help your self.”

 

“Thank you”, said Doctor Strange and made himself a drink. Then he made a gesture towards one of the other chairs and said, “Do you mind?”

 

Karl Mordo just looked at him for a few seconds...and then he just shook his head. And Doctor Strange sat down. Turning the drink in his hands after he had taken a sip.

 

None of the two men spoke for several seconds. Then Karl Mordo asked with a small tremble in his voice, “Agamotto told me that he is powerful enough to undo what I did. Bit I did kill you...and I suppose you have come to kill me... now? In return.”

 

Doctor Strange looked at him and paused a bit before he said, “No....and that 'no' has several reasons. I have no wish to kill you....for several reasons. And even if I had such a wish, I would never be allowed. You are much too important.”

 

Karl Mordo frowned and then he said, a bit bitterly, “Not allowed...well. To be the lapdog of the 'demon Agamotto'. How is that? How does it feel to be the lapdog of a demon?”

 

Doctor Strange shook his head and took a sip of his drink before he answered, “You know better, Baron Mordo. You know just as well as I, what Agamotto is. And to be a lapdog of a God? That could be worse. I have no illusions about my own greatness and....”

 

He was interrupted by Karl Mordo, “Agamotto is not GOD!”

 

“I never said that. I said 'a god'. Agamotto is a part of the 'threefold deity Vishanti'...and you know that. I even think you were the first to teach me that. But Agamotto is at the same time a guard and a guide and a teacher as well. He is not GOD....and neither is Eternity and 'his' siblings 'Death' and 'Infinity' and 'Oblivion'. They are not GOD...the very 'Creator of the Universe'. Because there is no one beside GOD and no one above.”

 

“And how do you know that?!”

 

Doctor Strange took a deep breath and told himself to be patient and said, “I told you. I told you, I was summoned by Eternity and I told you, I was tested. And I passed the test and gained protection for humans and Earth . A very microscopic tiny fraction of that huge mind, who is GOD, was directed at me – and Agamotto protected me. Otherwise I would have shattered to pieces. But I was noticed. And I was promised protection, so we could develop further.”

 

Karl Mordo frowned, “And yet we had to fight...”

 

“We were not promised eternal peace. But a chance...and the biggest baddies would be forced to stay away. Not those, against whom we have a chance to win. If we do not have to fight, I suppose it would be a bit like Darwin's 'theory of the survival of the fittest'. 'No fight' equals 'no development'. So I suppose challenge is a part of growing up. And right now we are still babies wetting our diaper. We are 'growing up'....and need to do it rather fast. Is has genuinely been a problem that life had to almost re-boot 8 times here on Earth. We do not have all the time in the world to grow and develop.”

 

Karl Mordo shook his head, “ I still don't understand. I tortured you and killed you – and yet you do not have a wish to kill me? And why am I so important, that you would not be allowed?”

 

“You don't know?”

 

“If I knew, I wouldn't wonder, would I?”

 

“You are much to important because you have a job to do. “, said Doctor Strange and continued, “You could be a decent Sorcerer Supreme, but I could never do, what you are doing. That is why you are so important.”

 

“What am I doing, then?”

 

“Making humans standing on two legs. The Western science has developed so far and so fast in such a short time. From parchment and ink to computers in less than 300 years. From petroleum lamps to spaceships in less than 70 years. That has never been seen happening so fast in this Galaxy yet, but we have forgotten the Magic and the mental development. That is the next step. And you and your inventions are essential. That is why you are important. You will have to build schools and universities and factories in order to teach the whole world about Magic science. It is not done overnight, but we and you will get there. And that is something, I can't do.”

 

Karl Mordo frowned, “And then I will have to give up being a Sorcerer Supreme in order to become what?....a...a teacher!?”

 

“No! You could become a Sorcerer Supreme...later - and gain the right to wear the amulet and to live in the Sanctums. Not just now. But when you are ready.”

 

Karl Mordo looked angry, “And who is going to decide that? Who is going to decide when I am ready? You? Agamotto?”....he huffed and emptied his glass and put it down rather forcefully and looked away from Doctor Strange.

 

Doctor Strange smiled and said, “No. Not us. _You_ are going to decide. You know when it is time. You know the moment you are ready.”....and he made a gesture towards the amulet, which was glowing green. At that point only a very few knew, that is was one of the Infinity Stones – the time stone. They just knew it was important and very very old and that it contained more powers, than it normally would emit.

 

Karl Mordo's head snapped up and he looked at Doctor Strange with a frown and then he sighed and said, “Well. I suppose you are right. I am not ready....not yet. Three days ago....after I had killed you..”

He paused and looked at Doctor Strange as if he was going to say some more....and then he stopped and continued, ”Three days ago, I would have thought that I was ready. But being turned inside out, like Agamotto did to be, has changed my opinion.”

 

He poured another drink and shook his head, “I still don't understand how you could stand to be treated like that? Agamotto told me that he did the same thing to you?”

 

Doctor Strange smiled, “Agamotto couldn't show me anything, I didn't know about myself. TAO made that mistake about me. She thought that I still needed to learn 'that not everything was about me' – she even told me that. But I already knew that. Living on the bottom of society in New York, thinking in self pity that I had lost everything, because I couldn't use my hands. Lashing out in bitterness against people, who honestly tried to help me. Realising that it was all my own fault. Living in the slum in Kolkata and watching people who had nothing and still managed to be gentle and giving and kind – that taught me a lesson.”

 

Doctor Strange smiled, “I was a dead man walking, as I walked the streets of Dago, searching for Kamar-Taj. If I hadn't found Saku, the boy from Kamar-Taj; if he hadn't told me about his temple and had made it possible for me to see it on the mountain-side; if he hadn't helped me over the 'bridge of truth' – I would have continued up in the mountains and would have let the snow or a deep fall be the cause of my death. I had reached the end of my line and had made that decision. I knew I wasn't important to anyone – not even myself. So – Agamotto couldn't show me anything I hadn't already known about myself – not then.”

 

Karl Mordo nodded, “I followed you in the streets of Dago. I was the one who stole your last money in the bus...And I was supposed to watch your reaction and to get you to Kamar-Taj – but then you met Saku and managed on your own.”

 

Doctor Strange smiled, “I know. She told me....about the bus and about the thief.”

 

Karl Mordo nodded again, “You are right. It took her some time to see how much you had changed. How much your journey to get to us had changed you. And you were almost not ready as you was confronted with Kaecilius in New York.”

 

“No I was an amateur and he almost killed me...But I managed to survive, because Cloak protected me. I later made mistakes, because I wasn't educated enough and didn't know how much power he and his Zealots had gained. If it hadn't been for TAO – he would have succeeded killing us later. She died protecting us. She really did, despite her - looking through my eyes – unwise decisions. Maybe she even realised, that she had taken too long to make me her apprentice. And you all – she and Wong and you - held me back and didn't allow me to learn fast enough. I knew what I did – I was not some immature teenager. I had to cheat to gain knowledge – and I almost gained it too late.”

 

Karl Mordo frowned again and looked at Doctor Strange, “I never asked you why you fled in Hong Kong. I was so angry . At TAO because she wasn't what I had thought her to be and at you because you showed me and because you just left after Wong had been killed and had been brought back – you just ran off and then you returned. And for some odd reason Dormammu gave up. I later asked him, as I offered him my services and he respected my powers enough to make me an allied instead of turning me into a slave, as he had done to Kaecilius. I asked him – and he said something cryptic about 'humans being so much more than he had anticipated. That he had underestimated us and he had realised that we were better as allies than slaves......but why? I knew he had changed his mind. But not why. Was it something that happened in Hong Kong?”

 

“You can say that. I made a trap. He got trapped in it and he bargained in order to get out of it”, said Doctor Strange.

 

“You...still an apprentice...you made a trap?! That worked against Dormammu?!”

 

Doctor Strange nodded, “Time is not a dimension in the Dark Dimension. That is why TAO could tap energy to stay young. That is why Kaecilius got that splendid idea that surrendering to Dormammu could gain people immortality.”

 

He shook his head and pointed at Karl Mordo, “When people get too many splendid ideas and have the power to fulfil them. Then it is the time where it gets dangerous. It has disaster spelled all over. My grandmother always said, “Follow the persons, who says that they are searching for the truth....and flee like hell from those, who say they have found it!”

 

Doctor Strange continued, “You never asked and you just assumed, I had been a coward.”

 

Doctor Strange slammed his hand against the armrest of his chair – then he took a deep breath and continued, “You just assumed. Like you did when accused me of not having a spine – to be a coward – like you did when you thought your 'pure' TAO was sullied – which she in no way was – and like you did, when you bought TAO's accusation of me of being too selfish. 'Hyper-inflated ego' she said. But that were not the words meant for me. They were meant for you, Baron Mordo. Because already at that point you had changed. You were no longer my friend, who had helped me and befriended me at Kamar-Taj. Helped me learn the martial arts. Who had been worried the only time she had pushed me almost too hard and had left me on the mountain with a sling-ring. She told me that you had been prepared to go and get me, before I would die from the cold. But that was the last time. After that, you had changed and she was deeply worried...She even told me that she thought that we could only defeat Dormammu by working together. My flexibility of mind combined with your powers. But I ended up fighting him alone. You had changed too much.”

 

He pointed at Karl Mordo, “You even had the nerve to say that Kaecilius was her fault. Do you remember?”

 

Karl Mordo looked at Doctor Strange, “I do. And I see now that it wasn't. It would have happened at some time anyway. So...what happened in Hong Kong? Apart from you using forbidden powers?”

 


	13. chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dormammu. I've come to bargain” ......2012 times....

Karl Mordo had asked – finally – what had actually happened in Hong Kong so many years ago, when Dormammu was defeated. He had never thought about it before – and he really couldn't tell why he had never given it a thought.

 

“I heard something Kaecilius said and it gave me an idea. “ explained Doctor Strange, “He said 'beyond time'....and that was right. Time as we know it doesn't really exist in the Dark Dimension. So I made a trap.”

 

Doctor Strange smiled at the memory and then he shook his head, “I made a time-loop. A never ending time-loop. Just me and Dormammu and a small piece of his dark dimension. I had made the loop 20 minutes – and I had so much time to regret, that I had made it so long.”

 

Karl Mordo frowned, “What do you mean?”

 

Doctor Strange smiled again, “Cloak helped me fly into Dormammu's dimension. That was the time you thought that I just fled.”

 

Karl Mordo shook his head in shame, “No – Kaecilius said that he had persuaded you into sharing his believes and you wanted to offer Dormammu your services.”

 

Doctor Strange laughed, “No wonder you were so pissed at me afterwards....Well you must have changed your mind, when I returned.”

 

“No...I still thought you had somehow made a bargain. Sold us!”

 

“Oh – I did make a bargain. It just took some time. Well, I landed on an orb. Checked that the time-bracelets were working and I saw Dormammu appearing and I said, “Dormammu! I've come to bargain!” - He told me I had come to die and that my world belonged to him – and then he killed me, despite my magic shield.”

 

“And?.....”

 

Doctor Strange smiled, “....... I landed on an orb. Checked that the time-bracelets were working and I saw Dormammu appearing and I said, “Dormammu! I've come to bargain!” - He told me I had come to die and that my world belonged to him – and then he killed me.....”

 

“You have just said that!”, interrupted Karl Mordo.

 

Doctor Strange just smiled.

 

And then Karl Mordo understood and continued, “....Oh.....I see. A time-loop. You would keep returning until he gave in? Saying that sentence over and over again.”

 

“Exactly. Just, the time-loop wasn't 100%. Both he and I would have to remember the previous encounters. Or else I would be trapped as well. Seeing each new encounter and death as the first. So yes...I told him that I had come to bargain, with small alterations each time. It got rather tiresome at a point...”

Doctor Strange shuddered a bit and closed his eyes, “I had lot of time to regret that each loop was 20 minutes...or longer. Not in the beginning, though.....but he got creative.....and unfortunately I have an eidetic memory and can remember every single one of the deaths. And 'Nightmare' used it later against me.”

 

Doctor Strange took a sip from his drink and looked at Karl Mordo, “He realised what I had done and told me that I couldn't do this forever. I told him, I could. It was him and me trapped in that moment. Endlessly. He told me, I couldn't win and I said 'no', but I could loose and loose and loose, again and again. And that would make him my prisoner. Earth would be safe from him....even if he would kill me for an eternity. ...He told me he would make me suffer. And he did.....”

 

He paused and then he continued, “I know it didn't take long in your time, before I returned and things happened to Kaecilius and his two remaining zealots, as they became 'Mindless Ones'. But I was trapped in there, together with a being, who was practically immortal and was billions of years old. And was in possession of a patience according to that.”

 

Doctor Strange smiled, “He did give in - eventually – but he killed me 2011 times before he wanted to listen to me. I did surprise him. He later told me that that was what impressed him. That I kept on going......and was prepared to do it forever.”

 

Doctor Strange took another sip of his drink before he continued, “I didn't know that there were so many ways of dying....or so painful. But there was no other possibility, than to keep on going. Too many lives was depending on me not giving up...even yours, Baron Mordo......and about 8 billions human lives. Not to mention all other life on Earth. So...there was really no other option.”

 

He huffed and smiled, “I really impressed Dormammu. So much that he reconsidered the fate of Earth. Or rather 'fate of humans'. It must have been to him as if he had been a scientist looking at some bacteria in a petri-dish and they suddenly formed words and began to communicate. I have no illusions about us being equals with him. He is a deity and aeons old. He had thought us to be slaves and now saw us more like allies. Even more after I helped him against Umar. Well – not me alone. Clea was there too.”

 

Karl Mordo frowned, “Clea?”

 

“Oh...you never found out, did you? Clea is Dormammu's niece – and yes – they do have family-bonds even in the Dark Dimension. Clea fell in love with me – took a human appearance and stayed in this dimension for a long time. I do consider us 'married' – even if I am not so sure about how she saw it. More like a 'master-dog'-thing? I am inferior to her after all.”

 

“Married!?”......Well, where is she now?”, wanted Karl Mordo to know. A bit worried that a demon from the Dark Dimension would show up and demand revenge for her dead husband.

 

“We did separate. She had to go back to her dimension. After all she is 'The queen of the Dark Dimension' after Umar was defeated – and Clea has obligations there. We are not enemies – far from. Quite the opposite actually. But we do not have time for each other. Too many obligations. We still see each other, when we can steal a moment here and there. I still love her.”

 

Karl Mordo could just look at Doctor Strange – in awe – as the things he had told, got processed in Karl's brain. And then it hit Karl – the enormity of Doctor Strange's sacrifice.

 

He looked at Doctor Strange and looked at him as if he saw him for the first time, “You died...sacrificed yourself more than 2012 times? How can you be like that? Be so selfless and forgiving? Almost like a saint. Like Jes.....” And he stopped himself.

 

Doctor Strange smiled, “Well – I have to admit that it was not totally selflessness, that helped me defeat Dormammu. It was part 'arrogance' – ' _That big idiot is not going to defeat ME_!” - Part 'stubbornness' – ' _I have died 20 times already – let us just take a few times more._..” and partly 'ignorance' – I didn't know I had to pay for my deeds so much afterwards. So – no I am not Jesus, I am not a saint. I was just a stubborn and arrogant apprentice, who happened to make a lucky decision, not really knowing what it would cost me and what I did. I was still an apprentice as I entered Dormammu's Dark dimension, but I stayed there long enough to have honed my skills and almost being a 'Master of the mystic arts' as I returned. In your time - only what? A few minutes after I left?”

 

Karl Mordo nodded and Doctor Strange continued, “And after having been in Dormammu's Dark Dimension several months, being forced to learn fast. I couldn't just let him kill me. I had to fight. He would have to meet resistance, or otherwise he wouldn't have given up that fast.”

 

“You call 2012 times fast?!”

 

“Well compared to that he is a being outside time and has lived billions of years, than 2012 times is fast. Almost 'immediately'.......”

 

Doctor Strange went over to the bar-trolley and made himself another drink and offered one to Karl Mordo as well. Karl Mordo looked rather shaken.

 

Then Doctor Strange sat down and continued, “Dormammu later told me that it was my determination and my stubbornness that impressed him. And he had honestly thought that I was trapped in the loop as well and had no way out, until it just ended of its own. He hadn't believed me as I had said that I did control it. When he found out, he was even more impressed. That is one of the reasons why he accepted that Clea and I was in a relationship.....and why he came to me to ask for help....and why he did help us here on Earth recently.”

 

“He...he asked you....for help?!”

 

Doctor Strange nodded and said, “Yes....and it worked. We did defeat Umar, and Dormammu got his throne back. The throne that now is Clea's.”

 

Karl was busy processing what Doctor Strange head told him and then he made some calculations in his head, “You died 2012 times. 2012 times multiplied with 20 minutes or more? That is more than a month? You were in endless agony for more than a month!”

 

Doctor Strange frowned at the look on Karl Mordo's face....it looked as if he was ready to kneel?! Worship him?

 

“Actually several months. Why are you looking at me like that? I just did what was necessary? And no....I sometimes lived for days. Dormammu tried to keep me alive and persuade me to break the spell. After he found out that I might be able to do that” Doctor Strange explained.

 

Karl Mordo didn't answer right away, just kept on looking at Doctor Strange and then he began to talk in a low voice. Changing the subject, apparently, “It is a bit funny that people here on Earth still have religions, when we know, the things we know now. But I suppose that their prayers still help – somehow.. isn't it?”

 

Doctor Strange frowned but humoured Karl Mordo and just answered his question, “More than people would guess. And that include you too. I have found out that prayers and religious rites and faith alone, regardless of it is Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism or just some primitive beliefs in spirits of nature – not matter in which form – well not human sacrifice, I suppose – but all the rest. They form a shield around Earth. Is a part of our protection. I don't think it has ever occurred to the masters of ancient times, how important that was. Maybe because they couldn't imagine a time, where people would stop believing. That is one of the reasons why we had so mange extra encounters and confrontations in the time before I ended up in Kamar-Taj. The shield was weakened from the 1960'ties and forward...”

 

Karl Mordo nodded and continued, “Well, I suppose you were brought up as a Christian? Living in the United States as you did.”

 

“I was....But not that my parents were overly religious. My father was a man of science and never took the words of the Bible literally, like some of our neighbours did.”

 

Doctor Strange stopped and looked at Karl Mordo, “My father was a lawyer.....and always told me that you should look behind the words. Look at the intention behind the words. The 'spirit of the words' as he said. Even when it came to law. Because if you just looked at the words and took them literally to the extreme – then you would just obey the words and never the intention behind it. At that would sometimes be unnecessarily cruel.”

 

Karl Mordo nodded, “I understand. And you are right – I lost track and thought that obeying the rules to the letter was the right thing to do. I stopped looking at the intentions behind it. And never realised until now, actually, what harm that can cause......especially if there was a sliver of truth and reason behind my actions, and at the same time a remarkable lack of love and empathy.”

 

He paused and looked at Doctor Strange, “Not like you. You died and died again to protect us....just like...”

 

He paused and shook his head and the he buried his face in his hands and whispered, “I am not even worthy of kissing your feet!”

 

And he felt so ashamed. Mostly of how he had allowed himself to see Doctor Strange all those years. Had kept seeing him as an arrogant man, with so little thought for others. Had felt himself being so much more – mostly because Dormammu had accepted him as an allied – and that it hadn't been because of his own outstanding qualities, but because Doctor Strange had eased the road, by his excellence and willingness to suffer for an eternity if necessary.

 

And then he gave Doctor Strange that look again and said, “I can't understand how you can be like that. Almost not human in your ability to forgive. Are you sure that ….?

 

“Karl...I am just me.”

 

Karl shook his head and said, “I am not sure about that. Allow me to explain.”

 

And doctor Strange nodded and didn't say a word.

 

Karl Mordo continued, “Sometimes the things you are taught as a child – they stay with you. And I was brought up in a time, very different from now. We were so much more religious......and the world was so much more difficult to understand. Spirits and demons were real and the reason why milk turned sour or bread wouldn't raise or butter not get churned. Thank God we didn't know about the real demons.”

 

He paused and then he continued, “My father had come to Europe as a child, together with his parents. They were not slaves, just servants, even if the difference wasn't that big, then. They worked for a Baron in what now is known as Romania. Back then it was an independent kingdom. The baron had several castles...and several sons. And they were all trained to be fierce fighters – knights. The Baron discovered my father's talents for fighting as my father was only 6 years old, and he was allowed to become a soldier instead of a servant. My father befriended the Baron's grandson, who was only a year older than my father and my father became his esquire. Things were rather heated in Europe then and there were a lot of fighting and wars and killings of people close to the throne.....and suddenly this grandson was only a few steps away from the throne. The plague had diminished the number of heirs too. When Wlasec became king, he promoted my father and gave him a Barony. “

 

Doctor Strange nodded and said, “Please continue...”

 

“My father's parents were dead at that time, so they didn't even see how far their son had come. My father found a girl of African descend and they married. Their subordinates loved them – or at least I think so. I never saw or heard otherwise. I grew up on the biggest of his castles – this one – and I had a good childhood. And now it comes – that about what you have been taught in childhood.”

 

He paused and looked at Doctor Strange, “The only version of Christianity in Europe back then was Catholicism. And some of the priests were – to put it mildly – a bit too fascinated with the 'suffering of Christ'. Even speaking to a child, who was only 6 years old, my priest and teacher never left out any of the gory details. And the decoration in our church had a crucifix with a very detailed suffering Jesus on it. No 'conqueror of death' here. “

 

Karl stopped and looked at Doctor Strange, “I was taught that Christ – in order to save us – suffered for more than 10 hours.......and now you tell me that you suffered for almost...how long? How long were you in Dormammu's dimension?"

 

Stephen frowned, "I don't really know. More than a year all in all. I had to learn fast. And I did learn."

 

Karl shook his head, "Then how am I supposed not to think, that you are more than a man?!”

 

“Karl...I am just me. And I told you. It was partly pride and arrogance and stubbornness that kept me going - and yes.....a willingness to continue, if that could save Earth. Just like TAO had told me that she had accepted death, because that was what looking into the future had shown her. If she had chosen a future, where she had survived, Dormammu would have won. She told me – later – that she had looked through so many possibilities and only a few had saved Earth. So it wasn't difficult for her to choose.....”

 

“She told you? But she was dead?”

 

“Karl! Have you forgot everything you taught me back in Kamar-Taj? She stayed as long as she could, as a soul. You know just as well as I, that that is something we can do. We are taught to do so. At a point she had to be a part of Eternity. Her soul became a portal for dangerous forces and she left.....but she was my mentor and guide for a long time, before she had to leave.”

 

 

Karl shook his head, “But, Stephen... are we then human any-more? Was TAO? Were the other masters, as we all learned to fight against death? Look at TAO. She was more than 800 years old. Looked as if she was 40....and I know she drew power from the Dark Dimension. And didn't get corrupted by it like Kaecilius. Look at me – I am more than 500 years old. And you – you look as if you still are in your 40ties – and that is more than 30 years ago......so. Are we humans any-more? When we do not face death so early as humans normally do?”

 

“I still think we are. Despite our 'cheating' – and it is necessary. TAO wouldn't have been able to learn and to be powerful enough in just the limited years of a normal lifetime. You neither....and I have a feeling that we do need to be here, at this specific point of time. Because we have to do something important. Very important. We might just be pawns on a gigantic chess-board. And I still think we are waiting.....

 

Karl nodded. He hadn't even noticed that Doctor Strange called him Karl and he hadn't noticed that he himself called Doctor Strange for 'Stephen'. It was as if all their animosity and all those years had melted away and their friendship from back in Kamar-Taj was slowly returning.

 

Karl could just shake his head. Doctor Strange spoke about this as if it was nothing. He defeated gods. How could he be so strong.....and how on Earth had Karl been able to defeat him....even kill him? And suddenly Karl Mordo understood.

 

“This...your offer. You coming here. Allowing me to kill you. It was a trap!”

 

Doctor Strange saluted with his drink, “Took you long enough. I hadn't anticipated you to kill me though. Just to steal my powers..”

 

He leant forward, “I wanted you to come to your senses. I needed to try to save you from whatever you had become. I had seen you descend deeper and deeper into something I couldn't recognize. So far away from the man, who had helped me in Kamar-Taj. And to do that I had to coerce you into taking the 'All-seeing eye of Agamotto' around your neck so Agamotto could enter your mind. He could have forced himself in, but that could have turned your brain into mash. The other way was much more elegant.”

 

Karl Mordo could just shake his head as he smiled, “You bastard!”

 

Stephen leaned back in the chair and lifted his glass, “I am glad you used that word...and stopped looking at me as if I am a saint. I am not.”

 

He smiled a little loop-sided smile, “Clea could tell you that much.....and others. I am very much still a man of flesh and blood!”

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of talking and some confessions.

Karl was silent and then he shook his head and asked, “You said that there were other reasons for you not wanting to kill me. What are they? Would you tell me? And I still can't get my head around it. Yes - you made a trap....but still. I hurt you! I tortured you! I killed you! And not just recently. I have made your work so much more difficult and I......”

And then he stopped and buried his head in his hands again, “Oh God. What if I had succeeded before? I would have jeopardized Earth's existence.”

 

He lifted his head, “If I had succeeded in killing you, Earth and humans wouldn't have existed by now.....how could Agamotto allow that to happen? Why wasn't I stopped?”

 

“Because humans still have their free will...and sometimes have to face the consequences of their actions. “, was Stephen's answer. And he continued, “Our fates is not totally predestined. TAO told me, as Kaecilius had attacked her in Kamar-Taj and as he killed the librarian and stole the pages in the 'Book of Cagliostro', she told me that it was not her fate to kill him. If she had, things would have had a different outcome. Dormammu wouldn't have attacked the time he did, but the consequences could have been so altered, that I wouldn't have been able to defeat him later. Or other Masters, if it hadn't been me. It became my fate to kill Kaecilius...sort of, because he was never killed. Just absorbed into the Dark Dimension. Dormammu later offered to return him, but it was not possible. His soul had moved on to be a part of Eternity. It is not without reason that the 'Mindless ones' are called mindless. There is only very little left in them. It would not be possible to find that piece, that once had been Kaecilius, and return that to a body. Only if we reversed time and got him before he was absorbed...and what good would that have done? He would still have sold us to Dormammu. He was so convinced that he was doing the right thing. Making life better for humans – somehow.”

 

Karl nodded, “Just like I did. I just....I just came to think about a lot of things. What happened to the poor people, I robbed of their powers?”

 

He looked very unhappily at Stephen, “Did I kill them?”

“No...not even Pangborn. He was found in time and later got that Exoskeleton, that Tony Stark had invented. Pangborn later got a stem-cell operation....with my...no, _Christine's_ robot and could walk and use his hands. He is an old man now...”

 

“And the others?”

 

“Some got a better life, because they were not 'potentials' any-more and not in danger of being a portal for other-dimensional forces. Some died....some lived. But all in all we did loose the protection that a lot of sorcerers would have provided. The rest of us had to work harder.”

 

He looked at Karl, “Actions do have consequences.....they always have. But I can hardly blame you for having feelings that I had too, can I?”

 

Karl frowned, “I don't understand...”

 

Stephen smiled, “I have fed that green monster 'Jealousy' too. Have hated a man with a bone-deep feeling of jealousy. To be fair one might even say that I killed him because of that – or at least didn't prevent his death...And don't deny it. You were jealous of me too.”

 

Karl nodded, “I was. Apart from your beginning in Kamar-Taj, and apart from you difficulties with the sling-ring, everything seemed to come so easy to you. You learned so fast, and yes, TAO had at a point sort of implied that I was to be her successor. Then Kaecilius came by...and then he was – maybe - supposed to follow her, until he wasn't. And then you....so – yes, I was jealous. But at the same time I admired you – just like I admired TAO. Until you both broke the rules. I hated that. It was as if you didn't deserve my admiration after that. She didn't, because she had done exactly the same thing, she had strictly forbidden us all to do, and you didn't deserve my admiration, because you were weak after all and refused to fight. I didn't know how brave you became later....”

 

Karl stopped talking and just looked at Stephen, “I am so ashamed...”

 

Stephen smiled, “Don't be. Your feelings were understandable. And maybe even your harsh words made me brave when I needed it? So – do you want to hear about my green-eyed monster too?”

 

Karl smiled, “Yes – I would like to hear something that could make you less angel-like.”

 

“Oh shut up!”

 

And Stephen began to tell, “The beginning of all this happened while I was still in Kamar-Taj – as a servant – not even knowing that my small and friendly talks with TAO, as I brought her her tea, was a part of me being her apprentice. I had written e-mails to Christine, but I had never got any answers back. And no wonder – I had hurt her so deeply. Had accused her of looking at me as a ' charity-object to save', while she was just trying to make me take more reasonable decisions. One of my colleagues, Nicodemus West – one of those doctors who had used my – no, _Christine's_ robot to save my hands. He had seen those e-mails and knew I was in Tibet. My colleagues had used the robot whilst they saved my hands, but they could have done a better job, if I hadn't been such an arsehole to make two levels of programming and …..”

 

Karl frowned and then he understood, “You had a higher and better level of programming, that made the robot work better for you?”

 

Stephen nodded, “And if I had shared my programme with the others, they might have done a better job with my hands..”

 

Stephen looked down at his hands, who still had the scars even if Agamotto had revived him, “TAO told me she had given the doctors nightmares, so they would have a lesser sleep, in order to make them operate less skilfully to force me away from being a surgeon and to force me to search for Kamar-Taj, but if I had shared the extra level of programming, they could have operated on me almost being asleep...and have achieved a better result, than they now did. I had only my reckless driving and my own assholery to thank for my damaged hands.”

 

Karl looked at him and then he nodded, “But your ruined hands saved your soul...”

 

“I know. I know. They made me stop and think and made me come to the wrong conclusion, that finally did lead me to come to Kamar-Taj....and finally make the right decisions. I know demons are real and they were eating my soul...and would have succeeded. I had no defences against them and being a 'potential' and having lost all my protection, because of the events in my youth, I would have succumbed. So yes. TAO's need for me did save me. I saved people one by one as a surgeon. But being Master of the Mystic Arts made me save all 8 billions. Just like you all had done, before I came to Kamar-Taj. Wong had told me about some of the events, that happened before I arrived. How Master Hamir lost his hand and how you lost so many apprentices and masters. And no one else in the whole world saw or felt anything.”

 

Karl nodded, “We lost so many and that is why we opened up for 'potentials' from other parts of the world and TAO began to look for the person she had only seen as a vague shadow. I have never really understood how she saw the future....I have never been able to do so. Not even by using the time-stone. That might have been another reason to envy you and to be mad at you, because you could do such a thing.”

 

Stephen smiled, “You and Wong got so mad at me. And scolded me. And never really discovered how careful I was. And another thing. You thought it was easy for me to learn so fast. It wasn't. I worked so hard: I did let my body sleep, but used my ethereal appearance to stay awake and study. I had some difficulties turning the pages and interact with the 'real' world, but I managed. I finally even managed to use a sling-ring and steal books in the library, while my body slept. I only allowed my soul to sleep a few hours every night. The rest of the night I studied. That is how I managed to learn so fast: by staying awake, having the curses and blessings of an eidetic memory and by learning how to manipulate the 'real' world's objects without a body.”

 

Karl didn't say anything, but he realised that Stephen Vincent Strange had surpassed him with his abilities, while he was still an apprentice. Karl had never been able to manipulate real objects without his body.

 

He shook his head, “I didn't know that you had been so skilled from so early on.”

 

Stephen smiled, “Don't diminish your own abilities, Karl. You were and are very skilled...and what you do with the magic matter, when you combine it with physical matter – in that area you are just as skilled as the ancient masters, who made some of the artefacts. I can't do that. “

 

He rose to fetch another drink. Made on for himself and one for Karl. With a lot of water. To mix too much alcohol with magic had never been a good idea.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More things from the past. And it turns out that TAO did lie about a lot of things.
> 
> I have to confess that have borrowed a lot from 'The Oath' by Vaughan Martin Rodriguez
> 
> And the HeLa cell-culture Doctor Strange is talking about in the next chapter, is the one mentioned on this page: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/31/henrietta-lacks-cancer-research-genome  
> "The astonishing story of Henrietta Lacks, who died of cancer in 1951 but whose still living cells are now the basis for much medical research, has captivated America for the past two years – and there is no sign of the debate, or its controversies, abating.  
> As revealed in the bestselling 2011 book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, this is a tale of a poor black tobacco farmer who never consented to having her tissues taken but whose cancer cells have proved so important they have formed the foundation for work leading to two Nobel prizes."
> 
> It was so unfair and I just wanted it to be known. I found the informations as I searched for information about living cell-cultures. Funny how writing can lead to so much internet-surfing :-)

“Well, back to my green-eyed monster.”, Stephen started as he sat down again, “Were you aware that TAO had more than one apprentice?”

 

“Yes...yes of course she had. During the years she had....”

 

Stephen interrupted Karl, “No...not like you and Kaecilius. Not following eachother, taking a new when the other became a master. No – apprentices at the same time?”

 

Karl shook his head, “No...well apart from all apprentices in Kamar-Taj sort of, all of them, were her apprentices.”

 

“Not like that either. Her own apprentice.....” Stephen paused and then he continued, “And maybe it was me being to presumptuous, but she had sort of implied that I was – well – unique and chosen and her only apprentice at that time. Well, I can hardly blame her. You all were running out of time – and you had lost so many sorcerers and apprentices - and maybe she didn't want to put all her eggs in one basket...”

 

Karl shook his head, “But I do not understand. She could look out into the future. She could wield the Time-stone as well – just like you – and look out into the future. She must have seen you?”

 

Stephen shook his head, “It is not like that. It is like – looking at a screen and seeing 12-24-50 layers of pictures of the same time. But from a distance. If you want to look closer to see details, you have already chosen and closed other possibilities. Do you understand? It is not like that, but this is how my brain tries to make sense of what I see..”

 

Karl nodded, “I get the idea...”

 

“And that is not all. There are blurred places like...like mist or fog and details are blurred or even impossible to see. And you can't get closer. So – TAO only knew a few things: it was a man. Not Asian and with scars. Both emotional and physical.”

 

He stopped and looked at Karl, who most certainly wasn't Asian and had scars as well, “She must have thought it was you in the first place.”

 

“She did.....until she discovered that I lacked imagination. I got my scars in my childhood, by the way. I crashed through a window while I was only 5 years old. I later had to flee together with our cook and the stable-manager as my father's neighbours attacked my father after his King had died. I was awoken in the middle of the night and saw my family's castle burn down, as I had turned around while we were fleeing in the middle of the night. It took us a lot of dangerous adventures and a few more scars to get to Kamar-Taj. Those two servants had been spies for TAO and had kept an eye on me. They hadn't expected my father's neighbours to attack though....and we only got away in time because one of the horses was foaling.”

 

He looked down at his glass, turned it in his hands and then looked at Stephen, “I have never resented her for the decision to try to teach Kaecilius and not appointing me as her successor. Not until later - when she did disappoint me so much. I didn't mind being her subordinate and her second-in-command as long as she was superior. But then she ….”

 

“Turned out to be human after all and it was obvious that she could make mistakes?”, wanted Stephen to know.

 

“Exactly. And then there were others – but not any of them living up to her standards. Until Kaecilius came. He was Serbian and had barely survived as his village had been burned down and everybody – including his wife and 4 children, had been murdered. He had been left to die.....buried together with all the dead people in a mass-grave. He had managed to get himself out of the soil and had crawled into safety in the woods. His back was full of scars from the beating he had gotten before they thought they had killed him. TAO brought him to Kamar-Taj where he recovered – together with others.”

 

“When was that?", wanted Stephen to know, “During the 1st World War?”

 

“No it was before that. In the 1880ties. But only a few heard about those villages. It never ended up in the history books – and well - TAO thought for a long time that Kaecilius was the one meant to be her successor. Kaecilius learned fast and was skilled – and then he started to question her motives and.....well you know the rest. After all, it was you who risked your life to defend her against him after the first attack in Kamar-Taj.”

 

Stephen nodded. He remembered how he had believed, he was going to die as Kaecilius had prevented him from warning TAO. He had had his long hair and beard then, and Kaecilius hadn't recognized him later in New York.

 

Stephen took a deep breath, “Well, back to my jealousy. Nicodemus had always been a rival of mine. He could almost match my abilities....and the keyword here is 'almost'. He might have, if he had decided to work just as hard, but his streak of laziness prevented that. We had gone to the same university, but he didn't make two educations at the same time. He preferred partying over studying, but was intelligent enough to receive good grades after all. It irked him that I was so much better – and I am not bragging – I was better. He didn't contribute to the robot – but was never the less a good doctor. A good surgeon. But not an excellent one. So – as I had damaged my hands and couldn't work as a surgeon and had fucked everything up, he had been contacted by a desperate father. A billionaire, with a son in his twenties, who had a brain-tumour. A slowly growing one, but a malign one and it was situated a place, where it would be impossible to remove it, without turning the young man's body into a vegetable – or even worse – keeping his intellect intact, but in a total useless body.”

 

Stephen stopped and looked at Karl, “I know about people in totally paralysed bodies, who still want to live and who are able to live a fulfilling life, but it was a malign tumour and would cause a lot of pain and kill the young man within a year or two.”

 

Stephen shook his head and continued, “The irony in that........well.”. But he didn't explain what he meant by that, as he continued to tell, “The father had contacted me before my car-crash, but I had refused to operate. I was often accused of only operating on people, where I could brag about my successes, but the reality was, that I had limited time and resources. I was in demand all over the world.....and if I used my skill-set on the hopeless cases, I couldn't use my time on those where I had a chance to make them survive....”

 

Stephen smirked, “And to be totally honest. I was an arse-hole as well. Used the excuse of limited time and resources. Having only successes was a bit more impressive.”

 

Karl just nodded to encourage Stephen to continue and Stephen did, “Nicodemus later told me the blatant lie that he did regret that he hadn't been able to heal my hands, because “Now you couldn't save so many people as before.”....It was bullshit of course, and he was delighted that he now had a chance to be the 'brilliant neuro-surgeon' instead of me.”

 

Stephen paused and looked at the flames, a bit lost in his own mind, visiting his past, and then he continued, “When he found out that I was in Tibet and after he had seen me at the hospital, as Christine saved my life after Kaecilius had stabbed me and I had made a portal in the broom-room – and yes – he had seen me and my fight with one of the zealots – he found out that he might be a 'potential' too and had contacted TAO and asked if he could be tested. He wasn't mentally compromised as I was and might have seemed to be a better apprentice than me – or TAO might just have thought it would be better to keep more possibilities open. Short story is, that she travelled to New York ever so often to tutor Nicodemus.”

 

Karl shook his head, “You are right – _were_ right – when you said she was 'complicated' – but I can't imagine why she could choose to tutor a Western man – and in New York – without having the school in Kamar-Taj to aid her tutoring?”

 

“Fact is, she did. He didn't lie about that. He lied about a lot of things, but not that. He had ...means...to render my spells almost useless. And he couldn't have done that without being taught. And the patterns of his amulets carried the mark of TAO...so she most certainly used a lot of time tutoring him.”

 

Karl shook his head and said, “And that is why I – despite being so wrong in my actions – still had a tiny bit of doing something right with my actions of limiting the powers of unguarded potentials . If that Nicodemus could make useful amulets, then why on Earth could TAO allow him to be outside the schools in Kamar-Taj or outside one of the other temples? There are very valid reasons for restricting powers and tutoring pupils and teaching them about dangers..”

 

Karl banged his hand down on the armrest of his chair in frustration as he continued, “And yet – she broke every tradition and every rule by teaching this man outside the schools ad temples...How could she?!”

 

Stephen just said, “He wasn't totally outside any school. He was tutored in the Sanctum Sanctorum of New York.....and I can hardly believe that Daniel Drumm didn't know about it...and didn't participate in his education. I used the Sanctum Sanctorum as a school as well. I had pupils........”

 

“But..”, interrupted Karl, “.....it has never been done like that before. At least not without writing anyting down about having pupils in the Sanctum instead of in the temples and....

 

Suddenly Stephen understood, “You spied on me and the other Sanctums as they were working again! You found out when we had new pupils and apprentices and kept an eye on them and if they didn't obey the rules.....”

 

Karl nodded, “I stole their powers. And somehow I was right about doing that, wasn't I? You said that Nicodemus harmed you..”

 

“In his case your were right. But then again...you never detected him or stole his powers, did you?”

 

Karl could only shake his head, “No...I didn't. So what happened?”

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More confessions.....and a surprise.

And then Stephen told how he and Wong and other masters had been working hard preventing attacks from other-dimensional beings and how that had prevented Stephen from noticing that Wong had been ill. The tumour in Wong's head had at that time grown so large that Wong's magic couldn't prevent the symptoms any-more....and Wong had hidden his symptoms with normal Western medicine. Stephen had told him, as he found out, that Wong had been an idiot and had forgotten that Stephen had been one of the best neuro-surgeons in the world. But even Stephen had to admit that the place, were the tumour was located, would have been a challenge even for him. And an impossibility now, when it had grown that big.

 

Without Wong knowing about it, Stephen had searched for cures – outside Earth and Earth's dimensions and had found something about 'Otkid's Elixir'. An Elixir that the deity Otkid had made at some point millenniums ago and at a point thereafter, he had lost it. And no one knew where it had ended or if still existed.

____________________

By some strange coincidence Stephen found what he was searching for, on Earth, in Eastern Europe. Stephen had been asked to help a small mountain village in the Croatian Mountains. Crops were dying and cattle and sheep disappearing and the only trails were some odd substances. Slimy. Stephen knew then, that it must be an inter-dimensional creature and...

 

Stephen smiled at Karl, “Knowing what I know now and after having passed the Arena-test, I realise now that I could probably just have asked the slug to move away and have guided it back to its own dimension. But I was more violent then, and I fought it and won...”

 

He didn't dwell with how injured he had been and didn't mention that he had actually stolen the slug's possessions after he had kicked it back to its own home. And to Stephen's utter surprise there was a small flask among the slug's possessions. A small green one with ornaments. A flask that by close examination turned out to be Otkid's Elixir. Unbelievable.....

 

Strange told how he had brought it back to New York and how he had contacted a former colleague and asked him to perform some tests.

 

“I was not going to put that stuff into the veins of Wong, until I was sure that it would just reinforce his immune system and not just feed the cancer.”, told Stephen.

 

And then he told about the thief that had entered the Sanctum Sanctorum and had broken the simpler spells.

 

“It didn't help much that I had stronger spells outside the class-rooms. I had left the elixir – stupidly enough – in one of the rooms close to the class-rooms and the thief stole it and surprised me as I returned home. He had brought a simple pistol with him and had loaded it with a silver bullet. Of all things in the world, he had stolen those two things that combined could harm me...”

 

Karl looked at him and then he nodded, “I suppose he had stolen them from that odd collector, who collected things from serial killers, like the knife the 'vampire from Moscow' used, as he killed his victims and ate their flesh, or the flask with poison, that the Angel-maker from Boston used to kill her children? And let me guess: the pistol was the one from the KZ-camp Platzov, the one that belonged to the leader there and the one he personally killed more than 2000 people with? But the silver bullet? How could that harm you? We are sorcerers, not fucking vampires!”

 

“The silver came from the Doge-palace in Vientiane. From a duel-set.....belonging to the Familia de Borgia...”

 

Karl nodded in understanding, “And that combined with something that weakened your spells......well that explains a lot. So you were wounded?”

 

And Stephen told how he had been wounded by that gunshot with the silver-bullet. How he had sought help by the 'Night-nurse' – who by the way wasn't a nurse at all, but a doctor, and who often treated injured Super Heroes. Injuries that would crave too much explanations in a normal A&E. And Stephen told how he had found his colleague, who had investigated the serum, severely wounded after Wong finally had shown up and the Night Nurse had insisted on joining them.

 

Stephen looked at Karl and sighed, “At a point I thought that you were the employer of that thief and you just had decided to kill me some other way than your usual ways. The knowledge about how to disengage the spells bore the mark of Kamar-Taj...so I just assumed that it was you..”

 

Karl smiled a bit loop-sided smile and said, “Fair enough. I did try to kill you a lot of times. Glad I didn't manage though. And to be honest: I tried to steal your powers most of the time....and not exactly kill you. “

 

Stephen smiled and nodded and continued to tell about how he finally met Nicodemus West. The disguise, Nicodemus had used to conceal himself from Stephen, had been broken, as Nicodemus had lost his concentration.

 

Stephen shook his head, “Nicodemus had broken every scientific rule. He had not tested the elixir. If he had just tested it on mice or human cell-cultures like the HeLa cell cultures, he would have found out that there was a very thin line between reinforcing a person's immune system and reinforcing the cancer. And stupidly enough he just gave the elixir directly into the poor boys veins. In the beginning it improved the boy's health miraculously – for about half an hour – and then it turned out that the elixir did feed the cancer instead and the poor boy died being eaten up from the inside out by metastases that grew so fast that it could be heard. Nicodemus never told me of course, but I spoke with some traumatized nurses afterwards. Thank God, it didn't take long for the poor young man to die after the metastases began to be visible. Not more than a few minutes...And then the poor boy almost exploded. At that time everyone – including Nicodemus – had fled the room. And as I mentioned – Nicodemus got so shocked by the demise of that poor boy and how unethical he himself had behaved, just hunting the reward from the father, if the boy could be cured, that he forgot everything, he had learned as a doctor. And that was the point where I finally could see him.”

 

Stephen paused as if getting his thoughts together and then he took a deep breath and told, “ Long story short: Wong and Night-Nurse were together with me as Nicodemus attacked us after he had discovered that I could see him. He had summoned some being from another dimension. So utterly stupid! And totally unnecessary and totally useless. It didn't take more than a few seconds to send it back to its own dimension. And then Nicodemus and I met on the top of a building near the Sanctum Sanctorum. He had a device that could prevent us from using magic.... and if we tried after all, it would suck it up and contain it.”

 

Karl interrupted him, “....so that was where it went. He must have stolen it from me some months earlier. Not that I cared much. It was not a good invention. I thought it could contain magic like the orbs did. But just a little too much and it would explode...It was rather unstable.”

 

Stephen smiled and continued, “Well..it didn't explode, but it forced me and Nicodemus to fight without magic. He must have thought that I would be an easy victim. He knew that I had played squash and done a bit of running, but he had no idea how hard my tutor in martial arts had pushed me, in Kamar-Taj..”

 

Stephen stopped talking and Karl just smiled back and nodded. He had been the one who had pushed Stephen so hard and had forced him to exercise and exercise. Because Karl Mordo would have tried to hit him and harm him with all his corporal force after Stephen had been taught just the basics. Stephen had to learn incredible fast...and had lived up to the expectations. Karl was not the only one who had pushed Stephen almost too far. TAO had done that too, leaving Stephen, dressed only in thin indoor-clothing, high up in the mountains surrounding Mount Everest and forced him to find out how that sling-ring could open a portal back to Kamar-Taj.

And Wong had pushed him to learn fast too. Not only in martial arts, where he had continued tutoring Stephen in the Sanctum in New York, but back in Kamar-Taj - in a more subtle way, by keeping the important books away from Stephen, so he would have to cheat to get them and would have to read them fast, in order not to get caught.

 

“I and Nicodemus met on that roof...”, told Stephen, “....and we fought. He teased me and mocked me about how TAO had believed more in him than in me. How he had been her privileged apprentice.......and if his goal was to piss me off, he succeeded. His words did hurt me. I had assumed that I was...I don't know....special? But I can of course understand that she couldn’t and shouldn't only look at one person as her apprentice. What if I had failed and died? But right there and then his words did hurt me – I got jealous – even more so because I had fought so hard and had endured so much. And he? He had just – waltzed – right in and had had everything served on a silver tray. I hated him even more in that moment. With a searing glowing green flame of jealousy. So – again, I can't blame you for almost hating me, when I would have liked to rip Nicodemus apart in very small and bloody pieces. Both because he mocked me and because he mocked TAO too. How can I blame you for feeling something that I myself have felt?”

 

Stephen stopped and looked at Karl, “I know how you feel about her. But to me she was the best thing that could have happened. I was drowning and she did reach a hand out for me. I was a dead man walking – and she gave me life. I know that you hated that she turned out to be human after all. I loved her for it – and forgave her for her mistakes, because she gave me so much more in return...”

 

The two men sat I silence for a few moments and then Karl asked, “So – what happened? Wong is still very much alive, so something must have happened? How did you get the elixir back?”

 

Stephen shook his head, “I didn't. We fought and it surprised Nicodemus how good I was at fighting..”

Stephen turned his head and smiled at Karl as he said, “Thanks to you and Wong, most of all. Nicodemus underestimated me and my ability to fight.....and he saw the scars on my hands and didn't know that Agamotto had rebuilt and healed them, but had left the scars on the surface on my demand, so they could remind me not to be arrogant again. I overpowered him, but didn't use all my strength. I didn't want to kill him, not for real, only for a few seconds and not at all after we had begun fighting. His words was bouncing in my mind, but I had realised that he was right. I had no reason to believe that I would be TAO's only apprentice. It didn't mean that I didn't hate him and loathed everything he stood for. Then.....he tried to use magic after all and that device did send out a white light. It hit him and me and I fell down on my knees....”

 

“He must have tried to use magic after all, during your fight. It sounds as if the device overheated....”

 

“Something like that, I suppose. I fell down on my knees...and I wasn't totally unharmed. He had had a few 'good' hits on my body – and I was still wounded. But the white light made him stumble and he came to close to the edge of the roof. And I just watched. I didn't do anything. Just watched....and then he fell. That was the moment where I tried to use magic to catch him – but too late. As I used Cloak to float down to the pavement, his body was lying there and the flask with Otkid's elixir was smashed. Nicodemus, now in his ethereal appearance,  mocked me and said that he had got his revenge.”

 

“But Wong?”

 

“A few droplets were left in a shard. Enough to either analyse it and replicate it....or enough to save Wong. Remember that the small sample my colleague had got, was destroyed together with his work and his files in his laboratory. And he had been so wounded that he had lost his memories. So I had to make a decision: cure Wong or maybe be able to find a cure for almost every disease on Earth.”

 

Karl frowned, “But that could be – I don't know – dangerous for the balance of Earth? As if we are not enough people here on Earth? We do have limited resources of at least some of our things...and I know it is a tragedy for those who are ill or those who have ill relatives, but we can't make everybody survive...and yes – I know it is rich said by me, who had lived more than 500 years. But never the less....”

 

Stephen smiled at Karl, “I know, and I took that into consideration as well. And choose to save Wong. First, because he is my friend and second, because his skill-set was and is so necessary for the protection of Earth on a magical level. So of course I choose him. I just hated that I couldn't do both -  and something else puzzled me. Why is it that all those potions and elixirs are contained in such fragile containers? Glass....or other things that breaks easily? What is wrong with...with thermos flasks of steel? Or plastic-bottles? Why always something so fragile?”

 

Karl smiled back, “You know the answer. Iron or plastic can't hold the magic...”

 

“But then..what about magnetic flasks like those use in Western Science? They can be incredible strong. Even hold matter almost as hot as the Sun. Or fibre-ceramics or even unbreakable glass with a thin layer of plastic in between those layers of magic glass....To contain such important stuff in such fragile containers just seem so stupid...”

 

Karl nodded again, “You are in to something there. Definitely an area worth studying...”

 

And that was the moment another man stepped into the light surrounding the fireplace.

 

Karl looked up and froze.

 

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn why Karl Mordo hated Doctor Stephen Strange so much

It was Agamotto in his almost human appearance, who had stepped into the warm light of the fire in the fireplace and he did raise his hands, as he addressed Karl Mordo, “Don't look at me like that. I am not going to eat you. I haven't done anything to you, that I didn't do to Stephen.”

 

Karl frowned and looked at Stephen, who just nodded, “I suppose he is right. And we have spoken about it, Karl.”

 

And Karl nodded, but didn't say anything. He was still not quite sure, that Agamotto wasn't going to harm him again. It had felt bad enough as Agamotto had been in his mind – and Stephen had endured that before? That man never stopped to amaze him, even if he would rather have died than admit that – well – just a few days before. At that point he had hated Stephen with a blind and determined hatred, that he really couldn't understand now.

 

Then Stephen turned towards Agamotto and asked, “Why did it take you so long? I would have thought that you had looked through the cellar long time ago? Did you find anything disturbing or surprising?”

 

The tall man (who wasn't a man at all) walked around one of the armchairs and sat down and looked at both men, “I did. Not in the cellar, but in Karl's mind.....and nothing you have to worry about, Baron Mordo. Not any-more. But I found something that might explain a lot.”

 

“Please tell..”, said Stephen. Karl didn't dare to say anything yet.

 

Agamotto looked at Karl and asked, “Many years ago – before Stephen came to Kamar-Taj – you had several serious encounters with other-dimensional creatures here on Earth. Right?”

 

Karl hesitated and then he nodded and said, “We had. New ones – someone neither the books, nor the elder masters, not even TAO, had seen before. Or heard of. We lost a lot of apprentices and a few masters and Master Hamir lost his hand in a way that made it impossible to repair it – to regrow it.”

 

Agamotto nodded, “And that was the time you and at least some others were infected...”

 

“Infected?! With what?”, wanted Karl to know.

 

“Incubi....” was Agamotto's answer.

 

Karl shook his head and spluttered, “No way! That is one of the first spells we are taught. And even untrained Westerners often manage to defend themselves. Even as children. There is no way an incubus can go through our defences..”

 

Agamotto nodded, “And yet they did. Maybe because they – just like any other creature – tried new ways to develop. As you said – you met creatures that no one had heard about before. So why not new versions of incubi following them? And one thing more: the defences – are they like a wall or a chain-mail?”

 

Karl hesitated and then he nodded in understanding, “More like chain-mail – but those incubi must have been tiny to get through...”

 

“They were. Microscopic – and I have never heard of incubi that small. Not now and never before. So – a new version and you got infected.”

 

Karl frowned, “But...but...All of us?”

 

Agamotto shook his head, “You were all exposed and the incubi stayed and grew..but only in a few of you. And you changed. Slowly....otherwise it would have been discovered, before you had changed too much and the incubi would have been removed.”

 

“A few of us. Kaecilius and his zealots....and me..”, Karl nodded in understanding.

 

“Because..”, continued Agamotto, “....because you were already dissatisfied.”

 

“And if they found a pure mind, they didn't find a thing to put their claws into and then they were repelled. So what now?”, wanted Karl to know.

 

“Now it is gone. I only found traces. You must have overfed it at a point..”

 

Now Stephen interrupted, “Karl...what did you feel when you had managed to kill me? After you left the cellar?”

 

Karl hid his head in his hands, overwhelmed by shame and guilt, “I felt...joy...triumph...utter happiness.”

 

Then he lifted his head, “......and shortly after that, Agamotto invaded my mind and changed me. And I felt shame and remorse..”

 

Agamotto shook his head, “...I didn't invade you then. You overfed the incubus with feelings, that it hadn't got used to. It was used to anger – hatred – contempt – hostility – rage – all sort of negative feelings. Even if you felt something different, it was still born of negativity.”

 

Karl nodded with a look of contempt directed at himself, “And I made sure that I fed it – in abundance!”

 

“You must understand, Baron Mordo...” began Agamotto and was interrupted by Karl.

 

“...Karl. Please call me Karl. You have been in my mind. We sort of know eachother, right?”

 

Agamotto nodded and smiled, “......Karl – that it enhanced your negative feelings. Yes...you sort of invited it in. But don't think that you are to blame for much of the change. It found dissatisfaction in your mind and twisted and turned it out of proportion. Unfortunately so slowly that no one noticed. Not even I......”

 

And now Stephen interrupted, “And when you got rid of it......you don't hate me any more. You don't want to rip my heart out. So – this is the real you and....”

 

Karl shook his head, “....and then you just forgive me like that? For all the harm I have caused?”

 

Stephen smiled at him, “....I forgave you before I knew about the incubus. So even more now. And you are much needed and as I said, “ _I can't blame you for having feelings, I myself have had.._ ”

 

“But not into such an absurd degree. You have never actively tried to kill me...”

 

Stephen smiled, and if you looked closely, you could see that it was an a bit dangerously looking smile, “No...because if I had wanted that - in that case you wouldn't be alive, Karl. I have fought and won over more dangerous beings than you. So if I had wanted you to be dead, I could just have asked some of my more deadly allies to end you. But I didn't want that to happen. I didn't cheat by looking into the future. I know the dangers by doing that and..”

 

Stephen looked at Agamotto, “...and I have a mentor and teacher and guide that would remind me of the dangers, if I – in a weak moment – should be tempted to do so.”

 

Agamotto shook his head, “I have not needed to remind you of your duties for a long time, Stephen. You are truly the best and wisest Sorcerer Supreme that Earth has ever had.”

 

Then he took out two old-fashioned envelopes and gave one to each of the men, “I have to leave. I have duties other places as well. So good-buy for now.”

 

“Good-bye”, answered both men.

 

Agamotto turned around so Stephen and Karl couldn't see his face and murmured, “And the worst is still ahead of you. Despite the promises of protection. And this time you are truly on your own. Enjoy the moments of peace and tranquillity – build op your strength. Learn and learn fast.....”

 

And then he just vanished.

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Letters from the past

 

Karl opened his letter first. As it had been ordered on the old-fashioned envelope and he read silently at first and then he began to read out loud as the letter instructed him to do:

 

“ _Dear Karl Amadeus Mordo – my beloved apprentice – and later my dear colleague._

_You came to Kamar-Taj as a child and I wanted so badly to protect you for the same reason. That was my mistake. To see you as my child and to love you as had you been my own child...”_

 

Here Karl had to stop and take a deep breath before he could continue:

 

_“.......and as many parents not totally allow you to find your own ways, as you grew older. I taught you to fight demons. But I only taught you to fight the demons outside in the world and in other dimensions. Not your inner demons. And that was my mistake not to teach you that. That might have been the reason why you chose to distance yourself from me the later years. It did hurt me – hurt my feelings – and I thought for a while that it might have been because you thought, that you were destined to be my successor. But despite my love for you – that I loved you like a mother would have done – I was never blind regarding your virtues and your shortcomings. You are brilliant and strong and would have been an excellent Sorcerer Suprime in ancient times. In other not so challenging times. Unfortunately you are not able to lift the task, I can see ahead of us. A threat yet to come and a threat that I am not allowed to see clearly. Looking out into the future has its limitations. Some of the things I can see, are blurred parts. But what I_ can _see – and what I hope, I have made the right choices to make it come true – is that my apprentice – a scarred Caucasian man from the West – a man with both emotional scars and bodily_ scars _– will be able to eliminate that threat. When we get closer to the time, where that man will arrive at Kamar-Taj, I will write more in this letter. It is meant to be given to you after my death. Live well and accept the fate I see for you. Not as a Sorcerer Supreme, but with a job equally important. You are going to be a teacher and a guide for my apprentice and a friend. And much later a teacher for the whole world. But that part I can't see clearly. Not yet._

_With the best wishes for your future_

_Tha-Og”_

 

Karl paused and had to swallow a lump, “She wrote her real name.....”

 

Stephen nodded, “She did.”

 

“You knew it?”

 

“She told me after she had died. After she had fought Kaecilius and saved our lives. She told me that her life ended there. That she knew that and had accepted that. Other futures, where she had survived, wouldn't lead to the wanted outcome: an elimination of a threat that would end Earth and humans as we knew them.”

 

Karl nodded, “Dormammu...”

 

Stephen nodded and said, “Continue reading please. There is more in your envelope.”

 

And Karl took out the next letter and continued, _“Dear Karl. This is the second part of my letter to you. As you have found out by now, Kaecilius wasn't my next apprentice. The vagabond with the scarred and shaking hands showed us how determined he was, and even risked his life saving me from Kaecilius' attack here in Kamar-Taj. I know you found that I pushed Stephen Strange too much and too fast and too far. But we are running out of time and I was a bit to late about discovering the qualities in the bearded shaking man. If I have made the right choices, he will be sitting next to you and listen to you reading this out loud. To you Stephen, I can only say that I am truly sorry that I didn't see your qualities in time and that my delaying and hesitation could turn out to be fatal. But again, if this is the version of all the letters, I have written, that Agamotto has given to you, this is the best version of the future. You, Stephen, must have managed to eliminate the enormous threat, that I can't see clearly. You must have survived and Karl must have remained your friend during all those years. Supporting and helping and lending you his strength.....”_

 

Karl lifted his eyes from the letter and looked at Stephen with a smirk, “Well, she didn't get that part right!”

 

Stephen just nodded and Karl continued, “ _....because Stephen Strange should now have proven his worth. He has the quality that Earth needs right now: a willingness to bend the rules if necessary and yet obey the_ **spirit** _of the rules if not the_ **words** _. That is your biggest shortcoming, Karl – and your only one – that you are too willing to obey the rules. Rules are only guidelines. They are meant to be bend a little – not too often and not too much. Kaecilius turned out to be the opposite. He thought that rules wouldn't apply to him._

_Well. I have written so many letters and I do hope that this letter is the one reaching both of you out in the future. This is the best outcome and I am sad, that I can't see it with my own eyes. I could see, I could remain a while in my soul-appearance, but again – I could see, I could not do that forever. Live well and make me proud._

_Tha-Og”_

 

Both men sat in silence for a few moments and the Stephen opened his letter and began to read out loud as instructed:

 

“ _My dear Stephen Strange. 'Doctor Strange' as you always insisted. And I have the deepest respect for that. That you most of the time really try to solve problems without killing – and yet have the strength to do so, if there is no other opportunity. I am so proud of you and so sorry that I underestimated you for a long time. I know you used the time-stone and broke a lot of small rules in order to learn fast. And without that 'cheating' you would never have progressed so far and so fast. I am writing this letter, well knowing that the confrontation with Kaecilius is approaching. He will not give up and I know my fate. Remember everything I have taught you._

_With the deepest respect_

_Tha-Og”_

 

Stephen took out the last letter. There was a change of the writing. In the beginning it looked like it had been written by a child and then over the next lines it got closer to the writing in the first letter:

 

“ _Dearest Stephen_

_The letters I have planned for you and Karl way out in the future have been written a long time ago. But not this one. As you can see I find it a bit difficult to control a pen without having a body. But I have to write this. You and I spoke after I had died and I hope that my final lecture did reach you. That 'it is not about you'. I think it did. You defeated Dormammu, even if I am never going to ask you how, and you must know that I saw that you did defeat him, looking out into the future. But I could never see how. I was not allowed to look so much further into the future. You know how I have described it: as flying over a landscape made of treads. Transparent and yet with colour. I can see many grey areas ahead, but not clearly, as I am not allowed to fly more into the 'future-direction'. Just know that there is not much peace ahead and that you will have to use all your strength and skills to defend Earth. I can see Wong's tread beside yours. And Karl's....and the treads of others as well. Some that I do not recognize and others that I do. What worries me the most, though, is that all treads, all of the 'might to be'-landscapes, no matter how many possibilities I look at. All of them end in a grey-ness. But I can't fly close enough to see what it is. Just be careful. I know that I, at that point into the future, do not exist any-more. Not as an individual. And I am all-right with that. I just wish I could be there. Not to help you – because at that point you will be more than I have ever been. You were already surpassing me as you defeated Dormammu. I couldn't have done that, but I wish I could be there to see what the threat is. I am curious about it. I think you called it one of human's biggest assets. Our never dying curiosity that forced us out of Africa and was the base of all science. So this is the last thing I will ever be curious about and that I will never learn._

_Live well and take care. I am so proud of you and genuinely feel that Earth could not have a better defender that you: Doctor Stephen Strange – Sorcerer Supreme._

_Tha-Og”_

 

Stephen sat in silence, looking a bit lost, with this last letter in his hand, resting on his thigh.

 

“She was right, you know.”, said Karl.

 

Stephen looked at him, “What?”

 

Karl pointed at the letter, “That you surpassed her, when you did beat Dormammu....and later even more as you made him our allied.”

 

Stephen shook his head, “She taught me so much...”

 

“Yeah. But she or we or the other masters never met a threat that big. Earth's existence had been at stake before. But never that close. Kaecilius was very powerful – not on TAO's level – but he could have reached that – if he hadn't had that other flaw in his character: that he didn't have patience enough. And that he underestimated you...”

 

“He would have killed me – like a human kills a fly – if it hadn't been for your teaching and Cloak.”

 

“And Cloak wouldn't have chosen anyone. It had been in that cupboard for centuries, because it refused to acknowledge any person at all. Another sign of how great and skilled person you were already then. I should have seen it – and that you were able to control the Infinity-stone in the amulet, should have told me earlier. It scared the hell out of Wong and me. And our anger was fuelled a bit by envy as well.”

 

Stephen smiled at the memory as Karl continued, “She was right. You have reached her level and surpassed it. You are one of the greatest Sorcerer Supremes......and we are going to need every ounce of strength and magic and determination out in the future. The threats against Earth are growing and......”

 

Here Karl stopped and hid his head in his hands again, “....and here I gigantic idiot did everything in my power to destroy you. What if I had succeeded?”

 

Stephen knelt down on one knee in front of Karl and touched his hands gently with his own – still a bit shaking and scarred hands, “And like that forced me to learn even more and be on my toes. Forcing me to learn other skill-sets. Forcing me to be more and more clever and ingenious. And my resistance forced you to be the same. We developed together. Just like Evolution – the eternal race between bacteria and humans – forced humans in such a way that our immune system is rather resilient and can withstand a lot. Evolution and the battle for survival made humans one of the few species that can live all over the world. We are here now – with the scientific knowledge of the Western science that brought us to the moon barely a generation after we had given up petroleum lamps and us – the sorcerers and sorceresses – who can fight magical beings just as powerful as those from the ancient books. And we win every time now. The Leyden-lines and the Sanctums have never been stronger. We did learn fast and had to learn fast, because there were always threats.”

 

Karl took a deep breath and lifted his head and looked at the amazing man before him. A man which fate had crushed him, not just his hands, but his mind too, since that awful day at the lake where he had fought a demon, but had lost two lives and almost his own and where he had thought his parents had rejected him. And a man where his closest friend had rejected him after his biggest sacrifice as he had been prepared to die for an eternity protecting Earth against Dormammu and ever since had that said 'friend' tried to kill him and sabotage everything Stephen and Wong had done to rebuild Earth's protection. And now that amazing man had just forgiven him like that and showed nothing but kindness – despite his own words about being just as cruel and hateful like Karl.

 

Karl shook his head, “You truly are one of a kind...and I am not sure that I am worthy of your friendship.”

 

“Nonsense.....of course you are.” and Stephen got up on his feet and reached his hand out for Karl, “Are you coming?”

 

“Whereto?”

 

“The New York Sanctum . I am starving and I know there are some sandwiches I can eat in my fridge there.”

 

Karl frowned and then he understood, “You are not sure about your new body?”

 

Stephen smiled as he made a portal, “Nope. Been there before and thank God I will never have to eat that pink goo or those purple tentacles again. Wong and I managed to make magical food that resembles food here from Earth. My freezer and fridge are stocked with it. So are you coming?”

 

And together the two men left the castle where one of the men had killed the other, had been forgiven and now was prepared to work together as The Ancient One had seen it in the future.

 

_______________________________

 

As they were sitting at the table in the kitchen in the New York Sanctum, Karl swallowed the mouthful he had just chewed and asked, “What know?”

 

Stephen smiled, “Now you build schools and universities and we build new sanctums and start finding potentials all over the world. Even more than Wong and I have done before. And you are going to build workshops and are going to be so busy making even more awesome things that connects the scientific world with the magic world. It is time for humanity to start standing on two legs.”

And the he smirked and winked, “And you will have to find something else than hatred to fuel your ingenuity.”

 

Karl smiled back and winked, “Then what about 'love'?”

 

And had the pleasure of seeing Stephen blush, before Karl continued, “Not you this time. We have walked that path.....and I envy that man or woman, who someday might get to know you that way again...”

 

“Karl, for God's sake. I am a married man – even if Clea and I can't be together now.”

 

Karl smiled and took another bite, “Just teasing. I have come so much to my senses that I know better than to compete with a demon from the Dark Dimension. But you are easy on the eye. I saw that even despite all that hair and beard that make you look like a cave-man way back as you came to Kamar-Taj.”

 

Stephen turned serious, “But I couldn't...”

 

Karl touched his hands, “I'm sorry. I was just trying to tease you a bit – like I did back then – when we were still friends. I didn't mean to hurt you...”

 

Stephen smiled and covered Karl's hand with his own, “I remember – 'Scar-Face – how I said that I wouldn't have you near my face with a razor-knife – when you obviously was just as bad as 'Edward Scissor-hands' when you attempted shaving yourself.”

 

Karl smiled back – enjoying the banter, “And I challenged you to try to use magic and shave yourself, despite your shaking hands. And then you turned up at supper, even more handsome than ever with such a nice beard and a smirk on you face and telling me – whispering – that you had managed even more delicate areas. With only a small cut.”

 

“And then you insisted on checking that there were no serious harm in that 'delicate area' and we ended up in bed together.”, was Stephen's reply.

 

Karl smiled, “I do hope that Clea does not blame you for your past....or me?”

 

Stephen shook his head, “No...we had both a past. It is just.....I still love her – or that part of her, she showed me, whilst living in our Dimension. But she is so much more than that – and so much above me – so I truly do not know how she feels about me.”

 

Karl turned serious and touched Stephen's hand, “I didn't intend this conversation to be this serious. But for all what it is worth. I think that you have climbed to the next level. So much more than a human being. Not just your body – which is partly made of Agamotto's substance – but your mind as well. You telling me that you passed the Arena-test just shows it. You truly are a 'Sorcerer Supreme' – the best Earth has ever had.”

 

Stephen smiled back, “I disagree – but thanks anyway.”

 

 

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a very long chapter. But I need it to connect the story, as it is this far, to the events in the Infinity War.
> 
> If I didn't get every event right regarding the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' – then forgive me. Most of the films – and only the ones shown in cinemas – I have only seen them one time each and had to rely on 'Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki'. And since I wrote that Doctor Strange had been a sorcerer for a longer time than in the films, I had to explain why the sorcerers didn't help more as Earth was attacked. It is easier to explain why they didn't interfere, when the Avengers fought each other. For them – seeing what they had seen – keeping the bigger monsters away from Earth – those fights were just schoolboys fighting in a corner of the school yard. And watched in a bigger perspective the sorcerers couldn't honestly take such a fight seriously.

The Sanctums were rebuild in other big cities as they had been in ancient times, when Earth had been protected by more than three Sanctums, and even more apprentices were found and educated.

Slowly Earth grew more and more protected. And it was necessary. Even if Earth had been promised protection, other dimensional beings were still trying to either move in and build a place for themselves or tried to conquer Earth. Just like the slug, that had had Occam’s Elixir – or some of them would be trying to gain access to all the potential powerful, but inexperienced minds of humans. Just like Dormammu once had done, as Kaecilius and his Zealots had opened a portal.

But true to the promise, no one was as big a threat as Dormammu had been. Not even the  Chitauri army, that later attacked New York, prompted by Loki, was that dangerous. Other extraterrestrial beings of immense power didn't destroy Earth. There were small attacks – yes – and it was all right – sort of - because it would prevent the masters from loosing their abilities. 

And there were still beings in other dimensions, who would need a firm hand and a watchful eye, so they couldn't grow too big – they were still there. And Wong and Karl Mordo and Stephen Strange and all the other powerful masters were often away and had to fight. But it was just 'minor inconveniences' as Wong would put it. “Nothing big, just enough to maintain our skill-sets”, as Karl Mordo would say. And Stephen would huff and smile a bit and shake his head, because if he didn't know better, he would say that those encounters were 'catastrophic' and rather big threats.

Stephen had an uneasy feeling about it all being 'a calm before the storm'. Because if he cheated just a bit and looked into the future - not interfering, just 'flying over the landscape' as TAO would have called it – all he could see in the 'horizon' was a blurred, unclear and grey area. He could see the treads continue after that, but not for long, before they disappeared into a mist. And he knew better than trying to 'land' to get a better look. Something – someone – didn't allow him to look further. Just like TAO had described how she had seen the future as well. Or rather 'not seen'.

Stephen was a bit worried that it was his own death, that he saw. But if it was – he could only stoically accept it. Just as TAO had done. That could be the reason why he couldn't look further. Just like TAO had described it, as they were talking in the hospital after Kaecilius had killed her. Where she had given Stephen what appeared to be his last tutoring from her. 'It is not about you' – and he had taken that to his heart and had remembered it in his confrontation with Dormammu. She had told him that she couldn't see further than that moment in the hospital. But it hadn't been the whole truth. Her body had died, but her soul had been able to stay and guide him a while after that. Just – it couldn't be 'seen' in that future-landscape of moving treads and possibilities. 'The fabric of life' as people had described it. When TAO no longer had a body – no longer was 'alive' in the meaning that word had on their energy-level – she wasn't a part of that 'fabric' any-more.

And despite her pleasing words in her letters, Stephen knew that he – despite his growth in knowledge and skills – wasn't on level with her. Not yet. But she had had 800 years to learn after all. And he had not had that many years. Not even as he had cheated and used the Time Stone. It had only made is mind about 90 years old. An old and wise mind in a forty-something body. He was still relatively young despite his greying temples. His body had not aged since he became sorcerer supreme. And even if he had put the mantel down and had left the sanctums, he still didn't age. He had still a long way to travel, before he would reach TAO's level of power and wisdom. If he would be allowed to live that long. If not – he just hoped that he could leave life with as much dignity as she had shown. It was not in the nearest future though, maybe more than 15 years or so ahead.

 

For now things were rather quiet and they had time to learn and get more apprentices. Rebuilding and developing. Stephen enjoyed the more quiet life, where he had time to study and he and Wong grew even closer in the mutual thirst for new knowledge.

They had read about the experiments regarding super-soldiers in the 2 nd World War and heard about 'HYDRA'. They didn't believe that the organisation had truly disappeared and decided to keep an eye on those home-grown monsters too. 

 

They kept an eye on S.H.I.E.L.D – all too well knowing that too much power can corrupt and an organisation that only answers to governments 'on paper', but in reality is above it all – sometimes even literally in a flying vehicle – and in some ways was a tiny bit too similar to Hydra – and only wasn't, when decent men were ruling the organisation – such an organisation ought to be watched. And that even if all the sorcerers were busy protecting Earth from threats that all the rest of the world knew nothing about. And how should the rest of the world know? Thunder was just a natural phenomenon. Lightning could be scientifically explained – all all those weird events: fish raining from the sky, unusual big hails, strange lights in the sky, weird looking clouds – all that was easy to forget, when people didn't know the real reason behind it: that it was extraterrestrial beings trying their luck with Earth.

 

Karl, Wong and Stephen watched the events regarding Tony Stark, but decided not to intervene. They couldn't solve all the problems in the World after all. And a man held hostage by terrorists and then escaping – that was not something new. If Stephen had looked into the future a bit more, then he would have noticed exactly how important Tony Stark was – and he might have helped him – and thus changed the path of history.

As the whole mess with others trying – and partly succeeding - in making armour-suits like Iron Man's - the sorcerers were busy saving Earth from another attack from aliens, and didn't have much time, or interest, in finding out what had happened. And since it was apparently solved, they didn't think so much more of those events. They were not so much different from other 'hostilities' amongst other people all over the world. 

 

Wong did notice, however, as an extraterrestrial arrived on Earth. It was Thor as he was thrown out of Asgaard, after having been acting as the teenager, he actually was. At least compared to Odin. And Wong consulted old books to find out if the stories about the 'Nine Realms' were true. Nine worlds – closer connected through time and space by the structure 'Ash (tree) Yggdrasil'. Those 'Asgardians' had visited Earth before and that encounter had been the foundation of the 'Norse Gods'. A religion founded in the Bronze Age and first abandoned as Christianity gained more power in the Medieval times.

And Wong got even more worried as he did recall all the things he could remember about those Norse Gods. Where were Odin – and Loki? Not to mention Hela and Fenrir and Jörmungandr – Loki's children or whatever they were. Wong wasn't sure that those bronze-age-people back then had got the family-connections totally right then. And those 'persons' – could they be more than 4000 years old? And in old books written on parchment he found traces and mentioning of the nine worlds moving and realigning every 4000 years – creating portals between the worlds that, by a scientific point of view, were thousands of light-years away from each other.

 

He showed his discoveries to Karl and Stephen and they decided to keep a watchful eye out. Thor didn't cause much trouble, not looked upon what happened in a greater scale and then Thor just disappeared. Karl, Wong and Stephen – the greatest sorcerers - still kept a watchful eye out, though, and had put up warning-spells to alert them if any Asgardian or other extraterrestrials would invade Earth. And it was a good decision.

 

At a point the Convergence – the realignment of the 'Nine Realms' - opened up portals all over the world and fights that had nothing to do with the people on Earth, were happening there: Loki and Thor fighting other beings that had nothing to do on Earth, whatsoever. A being named Malekith had apparently planned to ruin - for no apparent reason - all of the worlds in the 'Nine Realms' – or even the rest of the Universe – using the power from the 4 th Infinity stone: the Aether – which for the time being was more a fluid or a gas than a solid object - and the sorcerers secretly helped the Asgardians fighting that evil being. What had made that being believe that he could take his local fight all the way to Earth and expect no one to interfere – well that was so beyond stupid, that only a being with no knowledge about how well Earth was protected, would get that incredible stupid idea.

 

After that being was defeated, the Asgardians took themselves and their quarrels and the infinity-stone away from Earth again and the sorcerers were content – for a while.

 

And then the group 'The Avengers' had been formed. Stephen had feared for a few moments, that he would get asked to join. He had tried to keep a very low profile. But he lived in New York and he hadn't been able to hide forever. Thank God most people thought him to be a good magician - a bit like David Copperfield, but those people from the 'The Avengers' knew better and thought him to be either an enhanced human (and in reality he was – since he was containing a lot of Agamotto's substance) or a secretly trained agent from somewhere in Asia – at that was not far from the truth either. But they never asked him and if they had, he would have declined. If he would be busy with the relatively small quarrels on Earth, he wouldn't have time to keep the big monsters away.

 

Wong and Stephen had been away and returned to the havoc in New York, where the returned Loki killed people and tried to conquer first New York and the Earth with the help from the Chitauri army and the Leviathans – those strange whale-like creatures. The Avengers seemed to be able to defeat them on their own, so all the sorcerers were busy protecting Earth from being invaded by other more gruesome beings. The portal was like a open invitation towards more than one dimension and all the sorcerers faced a hard job keeping other beings away. Some of them could make the Chitauries and their weird floating armed skeleton-whales look like fluffy bunnies!

When Wong and Stephen, with the aid of other sorcerers and Karl Mordo, had managed to keep other beings away from the 'open door' and returned to new York, they could see the widespread damage. But even if people had died or had been severely wounded and buildings had been destroyed, Earth was still existing – New York was still existing. And the human race being more than 7 billions in number, could afford loosing a few hundred, even thousands and in worst case even millions, without being close to extinction, even if it was a tragedy for every single individual affected.

 

The sorcerers didn't agree upon their view of the Asgardians. They didn't mind Thor, even if he could be a clumsy and sometimes naïve person not at all aware of his own strength and how much he could destroy. But especially doctor Strange was a bit more torn about Loki. Were Mordo and Wong just saw Loki as evil and suggested that they should eliminate him or at least put him in prison in a dimension where he couldn't escape, Stephen had a feeling about that Asgardian, and said that they should leave the punishment to the other Asgardians. Earth had a rightful claim on punishment regarding Loki. He had after all killed people in New York and his actions had brought Chitauries to Earth and destroyed parts of New York , but Stephen had a feeling about Loki and Thor being very important participants in the future. And as a message was given that Loki had been punished in his own home-world and not would be bothering Earth ever again, the two other sorcerers accepted that fact. And they were busy fighting intruders from other dimensions and couldn't care much about a specific individual from just one alien race.

 

Loki had vanished again together with Thor and most importantly with the infinity-stone inside the Tesseract. Infinity-stones could sometimes interact if they were too close. It could be a problem if they were in the same galaxy, not to mention on the same planet. And Earth had seen 3 of them within a short time and would soon face the 4th. Someone was manipulating events.....and even the sorcerers couldn't see it clearly nor prevent it. And right now there was still trouble on Earth....in the US.

 

Later the sorcerers learned about the army of Iron-man-suits and about Killian, who had made some sort of serum that had gone wrong and had created soldiers that would explode spontaneously. But as the events not directly threatened Earth's safety – not even as the president was abducted – the sorcerers didn't intervene. 

 

They kept an eye on the emerging HYDRA. Sometimes preventing HYDRA from gaining too much power – just as they did with SHIELD – but it was not their job to prevent every unfortunate thing happening on Earth. It was not their job to prevent wars or murders. Their job was to make sure that Earth still existed and maintained its place in the Universe. They made sure that Earth wasn't invaded and that time and space behaved according to the normal rules and wasn't destroyed by bigger forces. With that in mind, people fighting and getting killed and hating and murdering each-other – that was just 'minor inconveniences' as Karl Mordo would say it.

 

And then it was relatively peaceful for the next two years, even if people were operating 'behind the curtains'.

SHIELD might have gotten an idea about the threats coming from other worlds as well and began to upgrade their weapons. And the sorcerers kept an eye on that progress but stayed away from direct contact. They could understand the reason behind SHIELD's actions, but secretly agreed on Steve Roger's words: " _ This isn't freedom. This is fear. _ .." 

The sorcerers stayed away when SHIELD was corrupted, but did interfere a bit by saving Nick Fury's life, both as his car was attacked and as he was shot. Using invisible magic shields. They thought Nick Fury to be the most decent man, but decided that the path SHIELD had chosen, should not be interfered with – not for now. They did know about the connection between HYDRA and SHIELD and were just waiting for them to get exposed. No one would believe them, if they just turned up through a portal in the Senate or in the UN and had told that SHIELD and HYDRA were working together, so the sorcerers just operated secretly and with very subtle spells.

 

They did know about 'Project Insight' that would eliminate everybody that HYDRA/SHIELD would regard as a threat against their power. And that included Stephen Strange, Bruce Banner and Tony Stark amongst others. So the sorcerers just made sure that the program – once launched – would fail. Magic could work wonders with computers. It was just a question of levitating one small object to another place inside a computer and Karl Mordo knew enough about that to crash every working hard-disk permanently. 'Minimum interference with maximum effect' - and honestly, couldn't those people just get their shit together and starting working together? They didn't know a thing about the real dangers and behaved like kindergarten-kids fighting over a red plastic-bucket, according to the sorcerer's opinions. 

 

As things turned out, the Avengers – or at least some of them – managed to avoid the launch of the Project Insight. And HYDRA/SHIELD was apparently partly destroyed at the same time.

 

Three years passed without much trouble on Earth. SHIELD /HYDRA was defeated and unfortunately only some of the responsible were called to justice. But governments had to continue and civil servants had to do their jobs. It was more important than getting every wrong-doer convicted.

 

Stephen, Wong and Karl Mordo and all the rest of the powerful sorcerers – most of them belonging to the sanctums in Asia – including Master Hamir – Wong's father – were knowing about one more of the infinity stones being on Earth. The one Loki had had in his sceptre – and they knew that remaining people of Hydra had it their position and used a fraction of its power to make weapons. They knew that Tony Stark had another in his position – the Mind-stone. And they worried a bit as they saw Ultron being formed by Tony Stark. Of course it backfired and Ultron was intelligence without empathy. A monster and not at all what Tony had envisioned. A few discrete spells made it possible for some of the Avengers to defeat Ultron - and Vision, who had been created by Ultron, had chosen side and was a part of the defeat. Vision was partly Tony's artificial butler Jarvis and partly the best side of Ultron and the Mind-stone, which had been a part of Loki's sceptre. All the Avengers had united, now with a few new members, as they had defused Ultron's idea about making a whole city into some meteor and make it fall and create a catastrophe and probably killing half of the life on the planet, replicating the event that eradicated the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. All this prompted and invented by one single mad-man, Helmuth Zemo, who just wanted to get his revenge on the Avengers, who he held responsible for some events, they had nothing - or at least very little - to do with. Some of the things just happened, when they tried to keep Earth safe and yes - people were killed. And so many more would have been, if the Avengers hadn't acted. 

 

Having now 3 infinity stones on one planet could make not alone the planet, but the whole solar system - not to mention the galaxy - unstable. But Agamotto shielded the Time-stone, Vision kept the Mind-stone sort of passive as long as it was in his forehead and the Space-stone hadn't stayed long on Earth but was back under the protection of the Asgardians and as long as it was in the Tesseract, it was sort of passive. At least regarding it interactions with the other stones.

 

The sorcerers tried to keep a low profile and and for the same reasons the sorcerers stayed out of the the Civil War where Tony Stark and Captain America ended up on each their team. Stephen Strange had seen 'Captain America' differently than a lot of other people had perceived him. Steve Rogers was a good and decent man – mostly – but he had his personal ghosts to fight as well. And Stephen could see many similarities between his and Karl Mordo's friendship – and later animosity – and the friendship between Bucky and Steve Rogers. Even if Karl Mordo had tried to kill Stephen a lot of times, Stephen couldn't bring himself to eliminate Karl. Even if he would have been able to do so.

 

On the other hand Stephen could follow Tony Stark's arguments about the Sokovia Accords. How it was necessary having some control. And Stephen could follow Steve Rogers' arguments too, about governments that couldn't always be trusted. Steve Rogers had seen too much during 2nd World War and even Tony had to admit that too big organisations or governments, that couldn't be limited, could be an immense danger as well.

 

And then the sorcerers had to leave Earth for a short while and they returned to something, they felt they ought to have prevented. Stephen found out that Steve Rogers had nearly killed Tony Stark and Bucky Barnes had been the person, who – brainwashed – had killed Tony's parents so many years ago. And Steve had known and had kept that knowledge away from Tony. Just another betrayal from his side..... Something Tony couldn't forgive that Steve had kept silent about. Stephen could understand Tony's feelings towards Bucky and Steve Rogers. How Tony would have felt utter betrayed and Stephen kept an eye on Tony Stark. Both because he liked and admired the man, and because he was worried about him. And he kept an eye on Bucky and Steve Rogers too. All to well knowing that Steve felt ill-placed in this world and extremely guilty towards Tony – and Steve Rogers was ripped into two parts, because he couldn't let Bucky down either. And Bucky needed him more than Tony did and for that Steve was willing to go to jail and to be hated by the other Avengers. Especially by Tony.

 

What a mess – and in the sorcerers eyes, so totally superfluous and stupid. Like schoolboys fighting in the corner of a school yard. It didn't mean that the feelings of the involved weren't real enough and valid. It just wasn't so important compared to the threats coming towards Earth.

 

Somehow Earth got involved with the problems in Asgaard. Odin had left Asgaard and had sought asylum on Earth. Or rather: Loki had thought he had forced Odin away from Asgaard and then Odin had chosen Earth to live on. He had even contacted Doctor Stephen Strange and asked for permission. Odin was tired and still marked by his 'half-death' – his Odin-sleep – and by his loss of his wife and by the power Loki had used to strip him of his Odin-power. Odin could feel that things beyond his control were happening and that persons and monsters, he had been able to control, now were being set free by powers bigger than himself. It didn't mean that he intended to go down without fight:

“I have done things – pushed people – even my own sons – to make certain things happen in the future. I have used of my life-essence, my Odin-power, to make it happen. I am tired and am ready to move on to the next level of existence. There is not so much more I can do, Doctor Strange. Will you help me fulfilling my last tasks?”, had Odin said, without being able to reveal too much and Stephen had accepted.

 

Thor had visited at one point – alone. And then both Thor and Loki a lot later – almost 3 years later - after terrible things had happened at Asgaard and they desperately needed to find Odin. And Stephen had send them to Odin. For a while, Odin had just been in a retirement home not far from the Sanctum in New York, pretending to be a human, but still with a lot of power left. Nothing compared to what he had had, but Stephen had a suspicion that Odin wasn't as weakened as he pretended. Even if Loki had stolen a lot of Odin's powers.

Odin had smiled, when he told Stephen about Loki, “He'll rule Asgaard and pretend to be me. And things will be quiet for a while. Loki will be so busy being me, that he would not have time to make mischief. And Thor is sent to places where he is going to be so much wiser. Everything is as it is supposed to be. Don't underestimate Loki, though. Be on your toes. But I am not going to do anything to disturb Earth. It is quite nice to be 'an old man' and get my dinner served and quarrel with the other old men about sport-events, I have never seen, but pretend I have. And smirk a bit, because I am the eldest in that retirement home.”

 

And then one day, he was gone. Stephen got a message that Odin was in Norway and that was where he sent those two Asgardians, Thor and Loki, as they returned.

 

He had even accepted that some of the things that Odin had begun, would be hidden by that grey mist, that was the only thing Stephen could see, using the All-Seeing-Eye-of-Agamotto – that is the 'Time-Stone' – and a few spells. Just like everybody else, Stephen had to accept that he, despite all his powers, couldn't predict and see the immediate future.

 

And that things were put into motion by higher powers, could be sensed as well as Agamotto – the Angel, who was one of the guardians of Earth, was nowhere to be sensed or seen. It was actually more than 15 years since Stephen had seen or even sensed him. And that only briefly. It was as if Agamotto didn't want to be seen so much after he had revived Stephen's body so many years ago.

 

Stephen had contacted Clea – his wife, who in reality had been a being from the Dark Dimension – and Dormammu's niece – and whom Stephen had helped claiming the power over the Dark Dimension back from Umma. Stephen loved her – but he also knew that 'Clea' had been an illusion. She had turned herself into a human woman, hidden her real powers, because she was curious about that human that in the first place defeated her uncle and later had proved to be such a valuable allied. As Stephen had contacted her, she had told him some things: that she loved him in her own way, but she had duties in the Dark Dimension and that he was needed on Earth. “More than you can ever imagine, Stephen and powers beyond me forces me to break contact with you. Not for always, but for know. Just be careful!”

And then she had returned again in her human appearance and had kissed him and had said, “Just like the last time, where I left you, I don't expect you to be faithful. Don't punish yourself like that – like the last time. I am an illusion and even if I love you and admire you, we are never on the same level and it would be cruel of me to expect you to keep on regarding me as your wife. I do set you free – find a partner on your own level, please, Stephen.”

 

Then she had vanished and he couldn't reach the Dark Dimension any more. That dimension was closed. Not even the strongest spells could open a portal to that dimension any-more. Events were approaching and all they could do was playing along and do their best.

 


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have borrowed a lot from Infinity War, well quite a lot, but altered a few things, too.
> 
>  
> 
> Bruce learns a lot of new things, but so does Wong and Stephen. And they do have lunch! (A lot of fan-theories have been about poor Strange fighting Thanos on an empty stomach)

And then Bruce Banner fell through the roof of the Sanctum in Bleecker Street, announcing that 'Thanos is coming!”

It took some explanation to understand what he had meant. While he was given food in the kitchen of the Sanctum – thank God they had decent food edible for normal humans, even if Wong and Stephen sometimes 'would die for a decent burger' – Bruce Banner told what had happened to him on Sakaar, being trapped inside Hulk since the events on Earth in Sokovia.

He had looked suspiciously at some of the contents in the fridge and the freezer, but had not complained as he saw what Wong and Stephen served him and they themselves ate. They did apologize that it was what their kitchen was able to serve. Just ordinary plain Tibetan food. It was what Kamar-Taj usually sent them. They never starved, even if Stephen said with a smirk, “There were times where the food, I could eat, was very weird.”

Bruce had frowned and Stephen had explained as he made a gesture towards the fridge, “Just believe me. That pink goo and the yellow hairy orbs was the only thing I could keep down. Oh, Bruce, I am going to turn your world upside down and only give you a few hours to learn what I had years to learn. Just eat and we'll tell you later. Were you conscious, when you were Hulk?”

Bruce told, in between chewing, “It is a bit like dreaming, being trapped inside Hulk. Like being in the boot of the car Hulk is driving. I hate it! I don't mind Hulk taking over sometimes. But for now he has been at the steering wheel for more than 3 years and God knows what had happened to my job and belongings here, while I was away!”

Then Bruce told what had happened on the planet Sakaar. How he had ended there and how the master of the planet – the Grandmaster – had found out about Hulk's abilities and had made him his favourite champion. And how Bruce the whole time had been trapped inside Hulk, because Hulk had too much fun.

“The 'Grandmaster' looked a bit like a human and so did some of his minions, but I don't think any of them were.”, explained Bruce and then he told that both Thor and Loki had arrived, shaken by the arrival of Hela in Norway, right after Odin had died. Hela had destroyed Thor's Mjoelnir and had taken over Asgaard, reviving her old army of skeleton soldiers, impossible to kill, had Thor explained and had continued to tell that Fenrir, the enormous wolf, had been let loose in Asgaard.

Loki and Thor had arrived on Sakaar several weeks apart. Loki had impressed the 'Grandmaster' and Thor had arrived much later, as a slave and sold to the Grandmaster by this big-ass-motherfucker-female fighter, who had been Hulks fighting partner for three years. Bruce told how Hulk and Thor had fought and Thor had found his strength and had defeated Hulk and how they had teamed up with the Valkyrie, the female warrior and how they – now Hulk being Bruce Banner again - had tried to get back to Asgaard in order of getting rid of Hela. How they had managed to get back, only to discover that Hela had killed a lot of people and the rest had been hiding in caves and Heimdal had done what he could to protect the rest of the nine realms by destroying Bifrost.

Bruce continued to tell how Loki had arrived in Asgaard with a ship and the Sakaarian former slaves. Hulks departure and the friends Thor had made, had been the beginning of a rebellion against the Grandmaster and Loki and the former slaves had stolen the Grandmaster's ship.

They had all finally failed in saving Asgaard and Thor and Loki had 'given' Asgaard to Surtur, by putting his crown into the Eternal Flame – causing 'Ragnarok' - the end of Asgaard. And the end of Hela. The only way she could be defeated. But not the end of the Asgardians, those who were still alive. They fled – including Bruce – now as Hulk after he had killed Fenrir – well, hopefully had killed the beast - , in the starship 'Statesman' – the ship Loki and the slaves had stolen from the Grandmaster.

Here Bruce had to take a deep breath before he could continue, “And then they arrived – those monsters. Thanos and his creepy minions. Do you know anything about that purple grape, Thanos?”

Stephen shook his head, but Wong nodded, “Many centuries ago some masters of the mystic arts made an attempt to look out into the future. Further than anyone else had done.”

He looked first at Stephen and then at Bruce, “It is extremely dangerous and both lost their sanity. It is like reading 10.000 books at the same time and the books would change and write themselves as you read them and ….”

Bruce nodded, “A bit like 'Dungeon's and Dragon's' books, I suppose?”

Wong frowned but Stephen smiled. He remembered those books too, where you would throw a dice and it would decide which page you should go to. The story could sometimes have several endings. He tried to explain to Wong how those books from his childhood had been, but Wong first understood it when Bruce and Stephen told, that they were a bit like computer-games.

Then Wong told more about those old masters and how the limited human brain would try to make sense of something, it couldn't understand: how several layers of 'realities' and 'time-lines' could be seen simultaneously. Wong tried to explain how the future could be seen from a 'helicopter perspective' or closer to the ground. And about the dangers if you 'landed' in a reality and thereby closed the possibility of other possibilities.

Bruce sat a few seconds and then he nodded, “I see. I think I understand. And it is only safe to look at the future from some distance. That means you loose a lot of details....and if you want to look at it more detailed, you either can't see a damned thing or you ruin other possibilities. So those old masters went mad because they couldn't cope with so many possibilities at the same time?”

Wong looked a bit surprised, but Stephen smiled and just said, “Don't underestimate Bruce Banner. He has 7 PHDs...well two of them are actually MDs.....he is smart. As long as he is not Hulk. Hulk is not stupid, but his biggest strength is not his intellect.”

Bruce just looked at Wong and smiled. An a bit silly smile as if he was wanting to contradict Stephen's words and then he continued eating. Then he stopped and said, “No, I can't avoid it. I have to tell you. I don't know if you can do anything about it, but I'll have to tell you. Well, those low-life-aliens, Thanos and his minions: that grey slimy wizard – Ebony Maw – Thanos' second-in-command, that even had the nerve to tell us that we should be happy to be murdered, were standing as if they just were in a park and planning on walking on the grass and make a picnic. Then there was those other three guys – well one of them was a female – I think – . A guy almost as big as me as Hulk, and then another weird guy, they kept on looking at some weird papers, as they kept on killing the Asgardians one by one. Saying something like, “no we haven't reached the number yet” - and they didn't stop until only Thor and Loki and Heimdal were the only Asgardians alive. I tried to attack Thanos, and Thanos was very strong and almost killed me – this is me, as Hulk - but Heimdal used his powers and made Bifrost throw me towards Earth. And here I am – and I don't know what happened to the three last Asgardians alive. Thanos probably killed them...” Bruce shook his head.

 

Stephen frowned, “Why on Earth would he..?”

 

But Wong nodded, “That was what the old masters were rambling about, before insanity got them. Something about 'Thanos killing half of the Universe'....maybe killing half of the number of all species?”

Bruce and Stephen looked at each other and Stephen was the one speaking, “ Well....Leaving only three Asgardians alive – if he even did that - that is hardly 'killing the half'. They must have thought that there were more ships with Asgardians – or some Asgardians left in Asgaard. 'Half the Universe' – that would be a bit presumptuous, wouldn't it? I don't think God would allow that and....”

Here he was interrupted by Bruce, “I know you used to be a doctor – a neurosurgeon – and that means that you were a man schooled in science. Do you honestly believe in God?”

Stephen looked at him and said, “You have seen aliens – aliens that people in ancient times thought were gods. And believe me – they were just a little bit more than us – and we are....we are bacteria on a dust-particle in the Creator's attic. Not even that. And I have only so little time to teach you.”

Bruce had finished eating and said, “12 years ago I wouldn't have thought that there would be life on other planets – and see how wrong I was. So just go on rattling my image of how the world is put together and destroy everything I learned in school. I am listening.”

 

And then Stephen and Wong took Bruce to one of the libraries in the Sanctum and sat down in three comfortable chairs and tried to sum up in a very limited time, what Stephen had had several years to learn, and Wong even longer. That the Universe was more than 22 billion years old. That a huge and enormous mind had thought not only that but all the parallel Universes into existence. How other universes were lying close to our Universe and that they could - by skilled people – even people on the very low energy-level Humans were on – be visited.

Bruce was told about matter, anti-matter and the theoretical 'dark matter' that was put into the equations from Western Science to make the math about the Universe fit and was real enough. That part about 'black matter' Bruce knew – and then he was told about magic-matter – both the 'normal' one and the dark version. And unlike matter and anti-matter they would not annihilate, if they touched. And then Wong took over and told about beings in the different dimensions and why humans were so interesting for other dimension-beings. Even those on a higher level.

Bruce was told and both Stephen and Wong demonstrated how they could control the magic energy from other dimensions - and as they told him that a lot of things from 'his' Western Science in reality was closely connected to the Magic Science – like the weird results from Quantum Physics – he had laughed and said, “The next thing is that you are going to tell me that electricity is 'magic' and not at all movements of electrons in matter?”

Silence....

He had frowned and said, “It is?!”

Stephen had nodded and explained, “The movements of the magnets compared to the coiled copper wire or the other way around - and that again connected to the movement of Earth spinning around itself and in orbit around the Sun – and the spinning of the whole Solar System – albeit slowly – together with the Milky Way – that generates several spiral movements, that opens up to another universe – and we tap the energy from that. No worries – it is without life.”

As he explained, he made some intricate and complicated movements with his hands and his whole body, until he stilled and just stood still and a glow – similar to that from a light bulb – was glowing between his hands. Not the spheres or the orbs with rune-like letters, just a steady bright glow.

He smiled at Bruce and gave him the glowing orb, and Bruce took it and could feel a faint tingling, just like the one he would feel from a plasma globe. He frowned and looked at Stephen, “But then static electricity?”

Stephen smiled, “Yeah...that took some time to figure out. But we are still spiralling around in the Universe and that is enough, together with the characteristics of the materials , which can be charged, enough to make the electricity. Amber is almost alive and in its nature 'magical' – that is in the ancient times, where those amber-trees, that bled enormous masses of natural resin on to the ground, were still alive, those threes collected a lot of magic from other planes and some of it is still contained in the amber. “

He stopped and looked at Bruce, “We didn't know until recently that electricity was magic as well. It is my colleague, Karl Mordo, who is investigating the connections between Magic Science and Western Science – who discovered that. We found out that we do not even need metals to lead the current from one place to another. It can be done with – a cotton thread – or silk – or wool. It is just easier with metal.”

Bruce shook his head, looking at the orb, “What about lightning? Or solar cells?”

Stephen smiled and looked at Wong, “I told you – he is smart. Lightning – not Thor's version – is caused by the movements of the particles in the clouds. So it is partly static electricity caused by the magic particles that are flowing around here in our atmosphere and still that spirally movements. Clouds are not just water-droplets – there are a lot of dust particles as well. And some of them are invisible magic-particles. And static electricity is mostly build in materials, that at one time contained life-magic as well: plastics and acrylics from crude oil.....and solar cells? Well according to Karl Mordo and his investigations, it is because those silicon-crystals in themselves are magic...and are activated by sun-light. Crystals are magic...a lot of people have discovered that and....”

Bruce had let the orb float away and was hiding his head in his hands as he groaned, “So those silly middle-aged new-age men and women, who believed in the healing powers of crystals? They were right?”

Stephen smiled, “Only a few. The rest were charlatans and frauds. It is just like the Leyden-lines or Earth rays. Or the people who claim to be able to 'feel water' – a few were - or are – magicians, sorcerers and a lot of them unschooled, but still able to control and use magic. I even used the magic I didn't know I had, when I operated and cured people. The difference between Western Science and Magic Science has proved to be much smaler than we all thought.”

Bruce was just sitting absorbing the information he had got and then he said, “I am swallowing a lot of camels right now. You were right – you did turn my world upside down. But it is easier to believe, when you have been changed into a huge green creature and have visited foreign planets. Have seen stone with immense powers – those Thanos is trying to collect – and we had two here on Earth, I think. So...”

He looked at Stephen and Wong, “.....Is there more I need to know?”

Stephen told about the 'Eternals' – the first creations living in the young Universe, and who had chosen to leave matter and become energy. Apart from a few of them, who had stayed in matter – in flesh. And to Bruce's astonishment, the 'Grandmaster' had been one of them.

“So – he wasn't really defeated?”, Bruce wanted to know.

“No way. He is just playing – 'with dolls' – creating a 'what-if-world'. He can't be killed and right now he probably is creating a new world for himself.”

Wong interrupted, “We even have a suspicion that many of them are still lingering around – in flesh so to say – and somehow we believe that Odin wasn't an Asgardian at all, but an Eternal as well. He had limited himself to matter – to flesh – and left as energy as he 'died'. He was much to powerful just to be an Asgardian.”

“And the other Asgardians?”

“Real enough – those who were not Vanirs. Or Jötnar or from the other nine worlds – including our Earth. The nine Realms are – or were – real and were connected. That part was true – but Earth had moved away as Western Science and the later version of Christianity took magic away.”

“Nine worlds –protected by the Asgardians - connected by Bifrost – controlled by Heimdal..”, mumbled Bruce.

Wong nodded , “And as you said, no longer connected by the connection 'Bifrost' and no longer protected by the Asgardians. Even if 'Yggdrasil' still works...I suppose. But not the 'branch' Asgaard. 'Ragnarok' has happened.”

Stephen remarked, “They haven't been protected for a long time. Not since Odin was weakened...and that is several years ago.”

“What are the worlds? And what is 'Yggdrasil' and why have I heard of it before...when I was a boy, I think?”, wanted Bruce to know

Wong rose and went to the bookshelves on the wall near by and took a huge book and brought it to a table, “Come and have a look.”

And Bruce looked at a huge hand-painted picture, very similar to the one Thor once had drawn.

Wong pointed as he explained, “Nine worlds, all of them in this galaxy, connected by a strange structure called 'Ask Yggdrasil' and which can be visited by Bifrost. We thought that Bifrost only connected Earth, 'Midgaard', and Asgaard. But it apparently depends on which 'weapon' activates it. The sword and Heimdal connected Asgaard and Midgaard. Other persons connected other worlds. But that is millenniums ago.”

Bruce frowned, “How old is this map and honestly, how old was Odin? I thought it was only recently we had contact with these aliens?”

“This book is based on older books and then on even older books. The Norse Gods visited Earth in the bronze-age.....that is more than 5000 years ago.”

Bruce looked at him and Stephen, “Of course. That is why I had heard about them before. Scandinavian Gods. But...but I had the feeling that Thor and Loki were younger?!”

Wong answered that, “The ones you have met, are what you in human terms what you will call 'youngsters', almost just teenagers. Not much more than 20 years old – 800 in their years.”

Bruce frowned and then he nodded, “I see. Odin-father had restarted it all one more time all over again. Another 'Ragnarok'?”

“Probably.”, said Wong.

“And one thing more.”, said Stephen, “Odin and at least two others, maybe even more, are the remnants of the first beings being created as the Universe was young. A lot of them have moved on – away from matter – but some stayed: Odin and his brothers. In Norse mythology they were called 'Vile' and 'Vé'...”

Bruce nodded, “I remember that now. Odin was the sane one. They created the world out of the giant Ymir's body. And then they disagreed about something and departed.”

Wong interrupted, “And you have met one of them.”

“Who?!”

“The Grandmaster – he is either 'Vile' or 'Vé'. At least we think so – according to his powers and 'The Collector' is the third brother.”

Bruce shook his head, “And the nine worlds. What are they? Well apart from Asgaard and Earth?”

Wong pointed in the book at the illustration, “We have never visited those other worlds. We are not allowed. Well...here is Vanaheim – the world with gods looking very much like Asgardians. Vanir are they called. Some Vanirs were living in Asgaard and some Asgardians living in Vanaheim. Maybe the Asgardians had planed to live there? After Ragnarok.? Well -apparently it is not a problem now. Then Alfheim – the world with 'Elves'. They look a bit like the Asgardians, I have read. Then their opponents: Svartalfir – from Svartálfaheim. More Jötnar – Giants, than Elves. Then Joetunheim – the world of Jötnar – Giants. Some good, some bad. Then – Múspellheim, the world of fire and with no life, except Surtur, who lived there before he was destroyed together with Asgaard, as you told us. The opposite world is Niflheim – the world of extreme cold. No life there either. But those two last worlds are outbalancing the whole structure. The last world is Nidavellir – the world of dwarfs. Well they are 25 feet high, but are build like dwarfs here on Earth.”

“Oh dear, my head is buzzing.”, groaned Bruce, “Are there more insane things?”

Wong looked at Stephen, who nodded and told about Agamotto, who was what people in ancient times had called an angel and who was Earth's guard and guide and one of the few species that could travel through several energy-levels. From that level close to the Creator down to the level of humans. And several dimensions. There were more guards than Agamotto, but he was the most important one. Bruce was told how Agamotto could merge with two other mighty beings and become even mightier – become the 'Vishanti' – a being almost, but only almost as mighty as GOD.

Bruce was told about beings from other dimensions, being very interested in the human mind, because we had developed so fast and he was told about the mightiest beings in this galaxy, the four entities.

Wong told, “In the dawn of time, as this galaxy was born, four creatures were born together with that. Some say that it was the whole Universe. But it is huge...and our Galaxy is big enough for four entities. They are 'Infinity', 'Entropy', 'Eternity' and 'Death'. Gender is somehow irrelevant, but they choose to appear for the eyes of lover beings, such as us, in a shape that is either 'male' of 'female'...or maybe it is just our brains making things up. Death and Infinity are female in their appearance. Eternity and Entropy male. Eternity is all life in the Galaxy and yet his own....and...”

“And most certainly male in his appearance...”...interrupted Stephen, “...Because he would like to appear more important than he his and sometimes claims to be GOD. I know that we are just bacteria on a dust-particle...not even that.....in the house of GOD, but Eternity is not the owner of the house, nor the builder. He is just a janitor. Nothing more.”

 

Bruce frowned, “You have met such mighty beings?”...and he thought to himself, “We must have underestimated Doctor Strange severely.”

 

Stephen nodded, “Yes, protected by Agamotto. But that is another story. Please continue, Wong.”

 

And Wong continued, “Well, 'Death' is self-explanatory, isn't she? She harvest life – reduces life and make cycles possible. Without death- no life. And that leaves Infinity and Entropy. Infinity is all space in our galaxy, just like Eternity is all life. She is space and more important - the creation of things from the matter GOD created. And Entropy is most of all destruction. Because without the destruction of structures, nothing new can be build.”

 

“I see”, said Bruce and continued, “And you are telling me that that crazy wrinkled grape intend to destroy half of all lifeforms in this galaxy? What ever for? If it is some crazy attempt to control overpopulation, someone ought to tell that idiot about renewable resources and ecological cycles. Not to mention what would happen if he killed half of all bacteria on - say my skin – and thus expose me to various diseases. Not to mention that fields would be sterile and infertile and barren without bacteria. And our oxygen-level would fall without the cyano-bacteria. So why on Earth is he so stupid?”

 

“Maybe he was never told how biological cycles work?”, suggested Wong.

 

Bruce shook his head, “We will have to stop him. We are going to need the Avengers!”

 

Stephen looked a bit embarrassed, “Well...about them. A lot of things has happened while you were away, so...”

 

And then Stephen and Wong told about the 'Civil War'...

 

“Are you telling me that Steve, Captain America, tried to kill Tony!?!”, Bruce couldn't believe his own ears.

And he couldn't believe what he heard about Wakanda either.

He slumped down on one of the chairs, “Do you have something stronger than tea?”, he asked, “I might need that.”

 

And then he called Stark Tower to hear where Tony Stark was and after he had to explain, where he had been for three years, he could tell Stephen were to find Tony.

“You better fetch him and tell him what you told me. And we will need everybody standing on two legs to defeat Thanos.”

____________________________

Tony was fetched in the park by Stephen and Bruce and Stephen did mix up on the few things he had been able to see in the future. He thought that Pepper and Tony already were married. Tony was brought to Bleecker Street, where he was told everything they had told Bruce – well not what had happened on Earth the last three years. Tony knew that of course. And then he learned about the Infinity Stones, as Stephen and Wong told about them and made a 3D animation of them floating in the air, “Each of them control an aspect of existence. 'Space'....we had that on Earth at one point. In was in the Tesseract. The Asgardians brought it back to Asgaard. 'Reality'....even that visited Earth at one point. 'Power'....was contained in an orb and we don't know exactly where it is now. 'Soul'....yellow as a piece of caught sunlight. It was on Earth at a point, too. 'Mind'...that was the one in Loki's sceptre and which now is a part of Vision. And finally 'Time.”

As Stephen said the last thing, he activated the 'Eye of Agamotto' and it began to glow green.

________________________

Bruce told about Thanos and he made the same mistake as others had done before him. Mixing 'Universe' with 'our Galaxy'. But Stephen and Wong didn't correct him. To understand how big the Universe really was – and Stephen had only been told about other galaxies by Agamotto – never visited them – it was mind-blowing. And Stephen and Wong hoped that Thanos was limited to our own Galaxy – as if it wasn't bad enough. And Wong and Stephen knew all to well that two infinity stones were on Earth right now, making them a target for Thanos.

 

Tony was quick to see the implications and then he suggested that they destroyed the Time-stone. He was told that it would be a very stupid idea, because mere mortals couldn't destroy such a stone – not without risking destroying the whole solar-system – or even more. Maybe even the whole Universe.

Then Bruce frowned and asked, “Where are those mighty beings, you have told about – Agamotto – and the others? They can't be interested in this happening, can they? And why can't you look out into the future and tell us what to do?”

 

Stephen looked at him and at Tony and just said, “We have tried. But we can't see anything. Every thing is in a mist from the helicopter view. And we can't land, because....”

 

Bruce nodded, “...because then you would have chosen a specific future.”

 

Stephen continued, “Yes. So it is out of the question. Right now is a vital point in time, but it is hidden in mist and uncertainty and further more - The Dark Dimension, with one of our mightiest allies – 'Dormammu' - is closed for us. I haven't heard from Agamotto for several years. Odin and Hela are dead. Several other deities have disappeared.....and what can we learn from that?”

 

Tony frowned, “That we are on our own?”

 

Bruce suddenly understood, “No aids are allowed' – like an examination – are we being tested?”

 

Stephen didn't answer directly, but asked, “What happened to the sharks and the horse-shoe-crabs?”

 

Tony frowned but answered, “They didn't evolve. Remained the same for aeons. Because their circumstances weren't altered. They remained the same, because they were not challenged.”

 

Stephen nodded, “I think we are being challenged. We have for a long time only developed the body – and mechanics on one side, or just the mind, on the other side. The Western Science developing the flesh and the Magic Science the mind. Standing on either one leg or the other. We will have to move forward. Learn to stand on two legs. And when are we at our best – and invent the most?”

 

Both Tony and Bruce nodded. They understood. Humans had always moved forward the fastest when they were inventing for crisis – for war. If it hadn't been for crisis and the threat of dying, humans would never have developed into Homo Sapiens Sapiens, but have remained like the Homo Ergaster. Unchanged for one million years.

 

“But what are your powers, Doctor Strange?”, asked Tony, “The most I have heard about you is that you can be hired for children parties and are good at making balloon-animals? What do you do apart from that? Wizard?”

 

Stephen smiled a cold smile, “Protecting your reality, douche-bag! We travel weird places and protect your world from several dangers and besides - It pays the electricity and from time to time burgers. The modern times have caught up with us. Electronic money are almost the only valid money now. We have to pay taxes – and water – and electricity – we can't pay that with rare items from other dimensions. So yes – I can be hired to make balloon-animals and to do some simple magic, that people believe is just smoke and mirrors. I am quite popular.”

 

Tony frowned, suddenly a bit embarrassed, “I...I thought you were on the city's payroll or something?”

 

Wong interrupted, “We would starve, if they didn't send food from Kamar-Taj.”

 

And he pointed at the roof, where Bruce had fallen through, “...and Stephen will have to make a lot of balloon-animals and I do a lot of research on the Public Library for universities all over the country, in order to pay for that. We can do a lot, but not conjure money out of blue air. Not money that wouldn't bring the police here asking all sorts of weird questions.”

 

“I'll do something about that”, said Tony, feeling rather embarrassed, because he had known that the sorcerers had helped sometimes, even if they didn't want to be a part of the Avengers. He was just being sassy towards Stephen Strange, because for some reason or another that man pissed him a bit off.

 

(If Tony had had time to think about it, he would have said, that it had something to do with that man looking so god damned handsome, being so skilled (because Tony knew some of the things Stephen Strange had done) and being so relaxed looking dangers right in the eye. Stephen Strange was everything Tony wished, he could have been....and on top of that, that git was taller than Tony and his beard was looking just as good as Tony's...and those cheekbones and those lips and....that voice!)

 

And that was the point where Tony asked why Stephen's hair was moving.

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is my version of Infinity War with a few alterations and a lot from Stephen's point of view. If you don't want to read it, then go to chapter 22 where we are back on Titan, right after Stephen turned to dust, but you will gain some vital informations in my version.
> 
> And this is a very long chapter. Now you are warned.

As they ran out in the street, Stephen stopped in the door and closed his eyes for a short moment. Not everything had been in a mist, when he had been looking into the future: a few things had been visible and some key-events had been revealed. Now was one of them. And he knew that one false move could projectile the future in a totally other direction. A wrong direction.

Oh God, how he hated to be so 'blind' – knowing that every move was essential and not knowing if he made the right decisions!

And then he ran out into the streets too.

And saw the Q-ship and the destruction it had already made. Stephen hadn't seen that ship in his vision, but he had a bad feeling about who were on board.

Well – better put up some defences and some bravado. Stephen just hoped that the very simple spell, which protected the amulet, would be strong enough. He did cast the spell of the 'Winds of Watoomb' to minimize the damage from the Q-ship and Tony nodded at him. So...” _The wizard could do more than making balloon-animals_ ”, said Tony's nod and his smirk.

 

When Stephen heard the soft and somehow at the same time slimy and much to happy voice from the grey alien, who stood so calmly beside that other huge alien, he couldn't help feeling a shiver down his spine. He had heard that voice before and knew it meant pain and agony. Couldn't that slimy monster not at least have had an awful voice?

And honestly – did he have to sound like a preacher? “ _Hear me and rejoice..._ ”. Had he learned that from one of those awful false television prophets, who always claimed that God had told them that they should ask their followers for more money, so they could buy an aeroplane for themselves? Well the prophecy from this grey alien was a lot more sinister than 'I am going to steal all your money, because God said so'......and what insane idea was it that the world would be better if half of all life would vanish? It didn't spell 'happiness', it spelled 'disaster'!

Stephen couldn't help but smile a bit as Tony had interrupted that grey.....sea-elephant... by his , “ _Sorry, but Earth is closed today!_ ”

Even if Stephen knew that they would fight in vain. They could at least give those monsters some resistance instead of just lying on their backs and bare their throats.

Now Stephen just hoped that his secret and subtle manipulations would bring them the right place in the right moment.

Now? Now they just had to fight.

______________________________

And later, when he had a little time to realise what had happened, he had to admit, that he was rather impressed by Tony's nano-suit. Looking like something right out of a science fiction movie. And especially what it could do in the fight against that huge stony monster.

________________________________

Right now Stephen and Wong were busy enough protecting themselves against the skilled Ebony Maw. He was the most impressive levitation- and telekinetic-wizard, they had ever seen and they had to use all their powers to fight him – or almost all their powers. Somehow they both knew that they couldn't kill him. Not yet. So just as he apparently was just toying with them, they were not giving all they had –they were pulling their punches too.

Even if Strange had to admit that Ebony Maw came close to kill him and only the information that a dead Stephen would send the time-stone either fast forward in time or fast backwards and either way outside Thanos' reach for a long time, did prevent Ebony Maw from killing Stephen and take the amulet from his dead body.

It didn't mean that Stephen enjoyed being choked by the cables from the underground in the street and being held in a crushing 'embrace' like from a python. And Stephen knew all to well what it meant as Ebony said, “ _You will come to wish you were dead!_ ”...and that was the last thing he heard, before darkness took him as Ebony closed off his air-supply as the cables tightened around his neck. He couldn't even push his soul out of his body. He was caught.

______________________________

He didn't sense how Cloak dragged him out of the cables and away from the alien. And how Spiderman had caught him. And how they were beamed up in the space-ship. Cloak too.

_______________________________

Wong had managed to portal the huge guy to some cold place on Earth – some snow-clad mountain area – as the huge alien tried to kill Tony. And Wong closed the portal the moment the alien jumped incredible high to get back to New York. The only thing that got back was his arm. Tony and Wong looked astonished at the dead arm, lying in the grass.

____________________________

Tony followed the Q-ship. He had to save Peter, before they left Earth. That was the only thing on his mind now. Friday was ordered to launch Peter's new suit and it reached him just as he lost consciousness because of the lack of oxygen. And then Peter was forced back on Earth. Or....that was what Tony had intended, but Peter was back on the ship again.

 

Tony used the laser from his suit to get inside and Peter had just managed to get inside as well, as the ship went into hyper-mode and vanished from the Solar-system.

____________________________

Later they learned what had happened on Quill's ship. How the guardians had caught up the distress-signal from the Statesman, the ship with the Asgardians, and how the Guardians had rescued Thor, as the only one still alive after Thanos had used the power-stone and blown the ship and the dead Asgardians to pieces. And how Thor and Rocket and Groot had left for Nidavellir, so Thor could get a new weapon to use against Thanos.

The rest of the guardians headed towards Knowhere – the place of 'The Collector', where Odin had left the Reality-stone. Knowing that 'The Collector' would do whatever needed to protect, what he now regarded as _his_ possession. Thor knew that the Time-stone and the Mind-stone were on Earth. And he knew that Thanos had collected the Power-stone as he killed half the Xandarians. And Loki had given Thanos the Space-stone – traded it for Thor's life just before he himself had been killed by Thanos. Valkyrie was out there somewhere, but only with a few Asgardians alive together with her. As far as Thor knew, they were less than 20 Asgardians alive now. Extinct. Just like the Dinosaurs on Earth, he had heard about.

So – at least 5 of the 6 Infinity-stones were accounted for – even if Thanos didn't have all 5 yet – and no one knew about the whereabouts of the Soul-stone now. Just that it had, at one point in time, been on Earth. One thing was sure – it wasn't on Earth any-more. If it had been and those two other stones were there too, Earth wouldn't have existed any-more. That it could hold two Infinity-stones at the same time – and even had a third for a short time, just showed how resilient humans were, without knowing it. On other planets, in ancient times, the presence of 3 Infinity-stones had pushed the whole population into madness. Now it had only made humans start the 1st and the 2nd World War. Not that it hadn't been bad enough, but it could have been so much worse.

________________________________

On the planet of 'the Collector' , Quill, Gamora, Mantis and Drax had arrived too late. Thanos had been there already and had used the Reality Stone to defeat 'The Collector'. And twist the reality. The Collector was apparently dead, his planet destroyed, the Reality-stone collected by Thanos and after they had failed their attack, Thanos left with Gamora. But left the rest of the group alive.

____________________________

On Earth, Vision and Wanda were attacked by two of Thanos' minions, Proxima Midnight and Corvus Claive and only managed and survived because Cap and Falcon and Black Widow turned up. They all returned to the New Avenger Facility and to Rhodes, despite earlier hostility (Civil War). Now was not the time for fighting each other. And Vision was seriously wounded. Bruce was there too, and he was told about Scott (Ant-man) and Clint, who were on house-arrest instead of being in prison. They contacted Wakanda to ask for help. The most logical thing would be to kill Vision and remove the stone and somehow get rid of it. A sacrifice Vision was willing to perform. But somehow they knew that it couldn't be that easy. And Wong and Stephen could have told them, that if they had tried, they might have made the whole Universe unstable. With that in mind, even Thanos' insane idea was better.

And the war was brought to Wakanda like that. Not so bad, maybe...because if any country could put up a fight against Thanos and buy them time, it would be Wakanda. The Black Panther and all the rest of the Wakandians were ready for fight and sacrifice. Even Bucky, who just sighed and accepted his new arm. He had enjoyed the peace, but had known deep down, that it couldn't last. He was ready to fight and eventually die doing so, if necessary.

______________________________

Stephen could have told them that it would be in vain and they would all loose. But even he didn't have the full knowledge yet. He was no longer standing on the 'mountain top' and looking into the 'valley' in that strange landscape his brain would conjure to make itself understand the not-understandable things, when several – thousands – millions - of possibilities formed a landscape of treads. He had moved down into the 'mist' in the 'valley' and could only see a few feet ahead. And right now he was in so much pain, that he could think of little else. Nothing worse than Dormammu had done to him so many years ago, and Stephen knew – he just knew that he had to hold on a little while yet. Something would happen. He had seen that. So he just focused on not giving in to the torture and give Ebony Maw that amulet.

The pain! At least some of the things Dormammu had done had been faster – and Stephen couldn't help moaning as several of the needles entered his body. In his back – his legs – his stomach and several in his face. Not hitting anything vital - yet. He would never give the stone away – never – but Ebony Maw had to believe that he might give in, or else Stephen wouldn't be able to buy Tony and Peter time to do something. If he had calculated right, they would do something right n......

 

And that was the moment Tony turned up in full Iron-man uniform – and had a conversation with Ebony Maw, where Ebony gloated and told he could kill Stephen with just one of the needles...and then things happened so fast. An explosion - and then Stephen was sucked out through a big hole in the hull. Well, Ebony was sucked out first together with some loose items, but Stephen followed a few fractions of seconds after. He was slow because of the pain. Otherwise he could have conjured a few spells, to protect himself. Even Cloak tried to grab him, but in vain and it was Peter, in his new suit, who managed to get them into the ship again, as Tony sealed the hole in the hull.

And then Tony was so incredible irritating. Because he was right. Stephen managed to squeeze in that he didn't have to obey Tony and asked if Tony could turn the ship around. Stupid question – but to Stephen's defence he was still a bit shaken. Those needles had felt like nothing else he had felt before. And in his own opinion, he had experienced a lot of different sorts of pain in his time.

At first Stephen had a feeling that they were adding to the disaster by bringing the time-stone to Thanos. But already as he said the words, “ _Under no circumstances can we bring the time-stone to Thanos_ ”, Stephen had a feeling that they were heading towards one of the key-places and key-events, that eventually could make them defeat Thanos and prevent the disaster.

Tony told that he had had hallucinations about Thanos, since The Scarlet Witch had fiddled with his brain 6 years ago. Tony didn't tell everything, but Stephen understood. They were really heading towards one of the 'knots' in the fabric. They would just have to be very careful.

But Tony was right. They would have a better chance against Thanos, if they did something unexpected – and turned up on Titan instead of the very deceased Ebony Maw. Well not 'Titan' as in Saturn's biggest satellite, but 'Titan' as in the rendezvous-point that Ebony Maw had mentioned. Now Ebony Maw wouldn't be there. He had underestimated the humans. Three humans - well actually only two – Stephen had been a bit occupied at the time – being tortured and stalling time, so the two other (hopefully) would cook something up. And they had – mostly Peter Parker – and that was why it had been so important that Peter had been on board that Q-ship.

And they had managed to out-manoeuvre that slimy grey sea-elephant. Stephen had no doubt that Ebony Maw would have been able to survive in space a little while. But that was the key-word -' _a little while_ '. Despite Ebony Maw being the most skilled levitator and telekineticer he had ever seen, Ebony Maw was not – had not been - a true sorcerer. He had only had a few cards up his sleeve, and he couldn't make spells to protect himself against the cold and the vacuum in space. Stephen had tried that before – being in places with no warmth and no air and he could survive for hours and even move around. But then again – he would need a few minutes to prepare and not be sucked out into space mid-torture! So – since they had moved on and left Ebony Maw stranded in space, he must be dead. Stephen hoped so. He had a feeling that it was very important, but he was still in the 'mist' on the bottom of the 'valley' and was just as blind as everybody else.

And Stephen agreed. They would let the ship bring them to Thanos. But Stephen had to say, “ _But you have to understand, if it comes to saving you, or the kid or the Time-stone. I will not hesitate to let either of you die. Because the Universe depends on it._ ”....He had to tell Tony that he would under no circumstances give Thanos the stone. He would let Tony die or Peter die and himself die too, if that meant that Thanos wouldn't get the stone. Tony nodded. He understood.

Tony had been angry as he had discovered that Peter was on board. He feared for the boy's life. But Peter was right. What good would it do, if there was no Earth to return to? If Peter could make a difference here, it would be better, than sitting idle on Earth waiting for the disaster to strike. And Peter was intelligent enough to understand that this was not an adventure, but a one-way-ticket. And he was ready. If his life could save half the Galaxy, it would be worth it. It was not that he hadn't faced death before.

And when Tony acknowledged Peter's effort and said, “You are an Avenger now”, Peter was proud, even if he was afraid at the same time.

_________________________________

On Sanctuary II – Thanos enormous space-ship - Gamora tried to tell Thanos that he was wrong about his idea about reducing the life – not in the Universe, but in the Galaxy – the Milky Way. Even 'reduced' to the Milky Way, his idea and eradication of life had already happened on hundreds of thousands of planets. But this was not enough in his mind. He knew the Galaxy contained more than a billion planets – with life – and he had realised that he would never be able to fulfil his plan to 'save' life by reducing its numbers, if he didn't find another solution. And then he found out about the Infinity-stones and the gauntlet to control it. He never found the gauntlet, but he found the people, who had made the original gauntlet and made them make him an exact copy.

He never asked the dwarfs nicely though. In fact he ruined their home-world and killed almost everyone. To make sure that they could not make another gauntlet. As it later turned out, it was quite a mistake Thanos made there. On Nidavellir.

And he told Gamora that he knew she and Nebula had lied to him, about the soul-stone.

He told her gently enough – but he wasn't gentle with Nebula, as he tortured her by ripping her artificial body apart in order to make Gamora or Nebula tell him where the Soul-stone was.

Now – Nebula only consisting of artificial parts by now – nothing biological left – shouldn't be able to feel so much pain. But she could– and she had felt it so much, since Thanos had caught her, while she failed at killing him. He had let her hang there in that room for such a long time and had made her being slowly ripped apart for such a long time that she had no voice left, no fight – and she could not die. She wished she could and sometimes her consciousness would just fade away. But always return again. One thing could make the torture stop, though. That she told him where the Soul-stone was. But that was her last resistance against him – that she wouldn't tell. No matter what.

 

And then Gamora came into the room - and told Thanos where the stone was – just because Nebula was screaming. Nebula couldn't help screaming, but Gamora shouldn't have told him! Why did she? She hated Nebula, didn't she? Why would her screams affect her?

 

And then Thanos and Gamora left for Vormir and left Nebula hanging there.

________________________

On Vormir Thanos and Gamora met a being, The Stone-keeper, who knew their names and who they were, and he told them, that he once had thirsted after the powers of the stones. He had even held one of them in his hands. But it had repelled him and changed him and sort of killed him and dragged him back in time and across the Galaxy to this place, where he had lived for millenniums. Forced him to see and know and guide every single one, who came to claim the stone, just to see them fail and either die or leave without the stone. Thousands of them.

He told Thanos about the sacrifice that the stone required: a soul for a soul. That the candidate would have to sacrifice something, he or she loved dearly, to get the stone.

“ _They always fail_ ”, he said with his deep and slow voice. Hoarse from not being used for a long time. He had been there for millenniums, and had encountered a lot of beings, but the guests were few and far between in all those thousand of years.

It was not an impossible life. He had shelter and food and even books to read – and a lot of time to think. Both about his own doings and about the beings, who came to Vormir. And he finally learned, after thousands of years, and did repent his own doings. Not that it would free him from his duty here. And it was all right. After all, his own deeds had been rather on the ominous side, with fatal consequences for those around him.

He continued, “ _The candidates only love themselves – or their ideas – their ideology. Some of them took the chance of sacrificing themselves to get the stone. Hoping that when they died, they did not die at all, but would retrieve the stone as a reward for their sacrifice. It never worked. Some claimed to love something – or someone – and sacrificed that item or the one travelling with them. It has until now been a lie, and the Soul-stone doesn't buy lies. Some even tried to sacrifice their idea, their ideology. Turned it into an object, which could be sacrificed. They picked up a stone and put their quest – their ideology - into that stone and threw that. It worked. But the moment the stone was thrown, they lost interest in their quest – their idea – and they did not thirst for the stone any-more. They just left._ ”

Thanos nodded and looked at Gamora – and the moment she understood, it was too late. Thanos really loved his daughter. Nearly as much as he loved his idea. And he was willing to sacrifice her to get the stone. Because he honestly believed that his idea about killing half of all sentient life in this Galaxy, would save life in the end. Without his killing, life would run amok and ruin itself. Just as it had done on his Titan so many years ago. Gamora tried to kill herself, as she understood, but Thanos managed to turn her weapon into bubbles and threw her out in the air. She fell towards the cliffs so far below and Thanos cried. A blinding light emerged in the sky and everything went black.....

And Thanos woke up with the golden Soul-stone in his hand.

___________________________

Red Skull, the former Johann Schmidt, looked at Thanos' ship, as it left and he looked down at the young dead woman, lying on the cliffs on the rock-floor hundred of meters below the platform.

He prepared to fly down to retrieve her body. _“Well, sometimes you are in for a surprise. I would never have thought that about that purple giant, but the stone must have believed him._ ”

He picked up the damaged and dead body of the young green woman, flew up and placed her on the floor in the cave, where he had put all the other corpses.

Something didn't quite sum up, though. Because if Thanos had earned the right to the stone, why was he, Red Skull, still here on Vormir? He shook his head as he returned to his house. Maybe it wasn't over yet?

____________________________

As Nebula managed to free herself, she took one of the smaller ships – a Necrocraft - and headed towards Titan. She had called Mantis as she left for Titan. The meeting point for the Black Order and Thanos, before he would snap his fingers and kill half the Galaxy. But she would kill him first! That was the only thing filling her mind. Thanos should die.

_______________________________

Meanwhile Rocket and Groot and Thor travelled towards Nidavellir – only to discover that Thanos had been there – and had destroyed the star, that gave life to that world and killed everybody, except Eitri, who had gone quite mad, being alone for years.

And Thor discovered that Eitri had made a gauntlet for Thanos. Not as good as the original gauntlet, but close enough.

“ _By Odin's Eye, Eitri – do you know what you have done!?_ ”, demanded Thor to know.

“ _I was forced! I did build in a weakness in the gauntlet, and hopefully in breaks and destroys the wearer, before he can use all the stones. I didn't trust Thanos' promises. I didn't. And rightfully so. He killed every single one of us 300. Except from me. He punished me by letting me live and he destroyed my hands. He turned them into stone._ ”

Eitri had smiled a bit and said, _“I survived and I live for revenge now. My hands make it a bit difficult to pee in a nice way - and to eat in a civilized manner. And I found out that I can't do what I am best at. I can't make new weapons or fantastic things any-more. Thanos broke my heart as he broke my hands, and killed all 300 of my species. And I can't even die!”_

Thor told him that he was more than his hands and that he could still help them build a weapon, that could defeat Thanos.

First Eitri didn't want to listen. And then Thor told that everything brilliant was still in Eitri's head, even if he couldn't use his hands. Eitri realised that Thor was right and the Dwarf instructed Rocket and Groot in how to make the new weapon, as Thor attempted to restart the star.

They nearly failed as Thor had to let go of the Star, before the new axe was totally finished, but Groot sacrificed his arm, to make a handle for the axe. Not a big sacrifice, as the arm would grow back.

Eitri couldn't use his hands, but he could still use his head. Thor had told him so and he realised that Thor was right. That was why Eitri refused to leave Nidavellir, after Thor had switched on the star again. He wanted to see what he could do even without his hands.

“ _I am not my hands. You are right, Thor. I can use my feet if I have to. I am going to make more weapons to stop Thanos!”_

____________________________

On Titan Peter, Tony and Stephen had managed to crash-land the Q-ship – or at least some parts of it. Most importantly: the part they were in. Stephen had conjured a magic net in the last seconds to protect them – and Tony said, “I owe you one”, just before they were attacked by Star-Lord, Mantis and Drax. Each of them believing that the other group was Thanos' supporters.

 

As the misunderstanding was solved, mostly because they all mentioned that they knew Thor, they tried to make up a plan. But Drax was rude as ever, Mantis distant, Star-Lord too confident about his own abilities and Stephen was just meditating. Tony could have screamed in frustration. To make them into a functioning team seemed impossible. And Star-Lord could have told him that.

Then Mantis noticed that Stephen was levitating, glowing green and phasing in and out of existence – and they rushed to him to see what happened.

Stephen landed, visibly shaken and was caught in the arms of Tony. Stephen looked for a few moments as if he couldn't remember where they were or who they were, but then he pulled himself together and told he had activated the Time-stone to see through - as he said - 'all possible outcomes of the upcoming conflict against Thanos'...

“ _How many did you see?_ ”, wanted Star-Lord to know.

“ _14.000.605_ ”, was Stephen's answer. He was still visibly shaken and disoriented.

“ _How many did we win?_ ”, asked Tony.

And Stephen looked at Tony with an abyss of regret and sorrow in his eyes. Something that Tony first realised much later.

“ _One!_ ”, was Stephen's answer.

That was what he could tell them. There was a lot of other things, he couldn't tell them. It sounded so 'easy' to say 'I looked into the future to see...' - it didn't tell _how_ he looked into the future and for how long. And how complicated 'looking into the future' was. How he had seen it as moving landscapes of millions – trillions - of treads. Landscapes with mountains and valleys and some places hidden in mist. Until recently he had just been standing on a mountaintop and had looked down into the valley. And only being able to see the outcome on the other side of that misty valley. Only from time to time being able to see something down in that valley with clarity. And carrying the burden of not knowing for sure, if he finally had found the tread that lead to the wanted future, where Thanos' snap wouldn't happen. He could see the future on the other mountaintop. But not exactly how they got there. The up-coming battle here on Titan and Thanos' eventually 'snap' or 'no snap' were still hidden in the mist. There was one good future though....and that was the one he mentioned. Because it was there. A living, thriving, unharmed Earth. All those intact treads going up from the valley indicated that.

And he couldn't tell them how long he had looked and why he was so disoriented. He had been gone – how long? - in their time here. Half an hour, maybe. But using the Time-stone? Years had passed in his search. Just like when he had been in Dormammu's realm so many years ago. For Wong and Mordo and the people in Hong Kong, he had been gone half an hour at the most. In Dormammu's realm, he had been for more than a year.

And this time? Many years....and he had even had to live some of the futures, snippets of them, because he was still in that damned mist.

“ _One_ ”, he had said, with a sigh. There might have been more. But he stopped looking as he found one useful. There was just this awful thing about it.

......but if The Ancient One had been able to do it, so could he!

______________________________

In Wakanda Steve Rogers, Bruce, Natasha, Rhodes, Falcon, Wanda and the wounded Vision were greeted by T'Challa, and Vision was hurried to Shuri's laboratory, in an attempt to remove the Mind-stone without killing Vision in the process. Vision still thought that they should just remove the stone and destroy it. Even if he would die in the process. Thankfully they refused. Because if they had tried, they could have caused bigger damaged than Thanos' snap would come to do.

And then Wakanda prepared for war. Evacuated the cities and found their weapons.

The Q-ship had arrived outside Earth's atmosphere.....and the smaller vehicles – drop-ships - loaded with 'Outriders' – tall fierce eight-limbed dog-like creatures - were launched towards Wakanda. Proxima Midnight, Corvus Claive and Cull Obsidian (who had a new robotic arm) had arrived too. Wakanda's invisibility didn't work, when the Mind-stone's signature was giving the location away. Like a fire in the dark night.

The barrier did keep the majority of the enormous number of Outriders away. But a few of them got through. They were like ants – army-ants. Unstoppable because of their sheer number. And at the same time, they did need to buy Shuri time to remove the Mind-stone. So T'Challa ordered the barrier opened in a small section, so they would draw the attention of the attacking army – and the attention of Cull Obsidian.

The Avengers and all the Wakandian warriors fought desperately and odds were not in their favour, until Thor, Groot and rocket arrived. Then the odds got just a slight fraction better.........but in the end they were overpowered.

Giant wheels of saw-blades – shredders - were launched and Wanda had hurried to the battlefield to help out. Vision was attacked by Claive and was forced out of the laboratory. In a forest far away form the battle-zone, Claive tortured Vision and tried to kill him. Bruce tried to defend Vision, but Cull fought Bruce and managed to ruin the Hulk-buster-suit, ripping one arm off. Wanda arrived and fought Claive, and Cull was killed by Bruce Banner as he used the destroyed hulk-buster-suit. The severed arm flew the huge alien into the barrier around Wakanda, and the alien exploded. Vision managed to kill his tormentor, by impaling him on his own weapon. Proxima Midnight had already been killed by one of the shredders, thrown at her by Wanda.

The beasts were still there, even if their generals had died. But without their leaders to control them, they lost their will to fight and fled for their ships. The ships were destroyed one by one as they attempted to flee from Earth.

So many people had died – and they had still not won. Because Thanos was out there somewhere – and Vision had still the stone in his head. Thanos would arrive soon and claim the stone......and they would all loose.

_____________________________

On Titan Thanos arrived, using the Space-stone. And met a destroyed Q-ship and no Ebony Maw but an apparently relaxed Doctor Strange.

Thanos seemed just as relaxed and showed Stephen how Titan had looked before and told just as calmly, why he had to kill half the number of all sentient life-forms. To save life.

Stephen just as calmly told Thanos why he was so wrong about that. Killing trillions. But Thanos didn't listen. He was too engulfed in his own vision and Stephen realised that he couldn't penetrate the vision that Thanos had made in his head. He had carried that vision for such a long time, and had sacrificed so much for it, that he was blind for any other solution.

“ _The hardest choices require the hardest wills.”_ , Thanos said.

“ _I think you will learn our wills equal yours!”_ , said Stephen and prepared for fight.

Too late Thanos discovered that Doctor Strange wasn't alone and Thanos was attacked with a spaceship dropped by Iron-man and Spiderman's webs blinding him, Drax cutting him and Stephen stabbing him with an Eldritch sword. Of course they were not a match for Thanos, not when he had 4 of the stones, but they continued. Cloak even attacked too in order to prevent Thanos from closing his fist. That did cost Cloak a severely 'wound' as it was ripped almost in two.

And then they attacked again...and again.

Suddenly Thanos was hit from behind by another space-ship. It was Nebula, who had arrived and who attacked her father. She was no match for him – not with him having the 4 Stones – but she distracted him enough for the group to launch their last attack: Stephen using strong ropes of magic to catch Thanos' left hand with the Gauntlet, Spiderman's web blinding him, Star-Lord throwing one of those gravity-mines to incapacitate Thanos' right hand, Iron-man using all the powers in his suit to hold Thanos' left hand, when the ropes were moved to the right hand - and Mantis landing on Thanos' back, touching his head and forcing him to stay passive. And now was the time where Star-Lord would rip off the gauntlet.

 

They almost succeeded...

 

If it hadn't been for Star-Lords gloating...

 

And him learning about Gamora's fate from Nebula. She understood that Gamora was dead.....and Star-Lord blew the plan to pieces in his anger - and Thanos got free again. And now he had finished playing!

 

He threw Mantis away as if she had been a rag-doll. Peter saved her.

 

Thanos froze Star-Lord and Drax and Nebula mid-air and hurled Stephen hundred of metres away.

 

And then he turned the moon in Titan's sky into millions of fragments, each of them big enough to kill everybody but himself. Spiderman managed to save all of them – except Iron-man, who ended under one of the big fragments. Thanos was furious. How dared those...those ants – insects - to go up against him?!

 

And then Doctor Strange confronted him. Stephen gave everything he had in him, not caring if he used his own life-force, as he had done so many years ago, fighting the demon in the lake and saving all those children – except from his sister and his cousin.

 

He had used the Time-stone briefly and had seen his destiny. The 'mist in the valley' had evaporated for a few seconds and he had seen, that his own tread didn't continue.

 

It was all right. If The Ancient One had died protecting him and Karl, so many years ago, he could die too, protecting the most important person now – Tony Stark. If Tony died, the bright and un-snapped future of humans and the rest of the sentient life-forms in their Galaxy would never happen. He could see that now – and he fought like mad.

 

Used everything he had learned and drew from every power-source available. Stephen did cast the 'Bolts of Balthakk' – defended himself with the mirror dimension, as Thanos threw a bolt of purple power from the power-stone. And pushed the mirror-dimension towards Thanos to catch him there. Thanos avoided that and then hurled a small black hole against Stephen, who turned the gravity into blue butterflies.

 

That had Thanos stunned for a few seconds.

 

Stephen multiplied himself and held Thanos caught with Eldritch whips, hundreds of them, each held by a clone of Stephen. It was a very powerful spell....but no match for a being with 4 Infinity-stones, who used the Soul- and Power-stone to turn that spell useless.

 

And for a short moment, Stephen's soul was pushed out of his body. Thanos caught his body and ripped off the amulet and found out that the All-seeing-Eye-of-Agamotto was empty...and hurled Stephen away. Stephen's body hit the ground hard. He had used most of his power and lost his consciousness.

 

Iron-man returned and used his nano-tech to render the gauntlet useless for a while, but Tony being a normal and not enhanced human, meant that he was no match for Thanos, even if he made Thanos bleed form a tiny wound - and Thanos continued to beat and punch Tony, who barely had any nanites left to defend himself. In the end Tony desperately formed a sword with his last nanites, but Thanos stabbed Iron-man with his own sword.

 

There was a look of confusion on Thanos' face as he realised that Tony was just a normal human being and the fight, Tony had put up, impressed him even more.

 

Before he could kill Tony, Stephen yelled at him and offered Thanos the Time-stone in return for Tony's life.

 

Thanos agreed and the wounded Stephen reached out for the Time-stone, which had been hidden just above the surface of Titan – disguised as one of the stars in the sky. The Time-stone was bound to position – at least with a few hundred metres – but time was no limitation, and Stephen had sent it out into the future to the moment, where he would trade it for Tony's life. That was what he had seen, as they had had a short pause in the fight with Thanos. Stephen had only needed a few seconds to see that path...and to realise that that was the path leading to the defeat of Thanos. Not the way they had thought – he himself had thought and seen. And that he had named 'one possibility'. That would have been their plan with Mantis and Star-Lord and their jointed effort to get the Gauntlet of and destroying it. Without that, the stones were powerful enough on their own, but the snap would never happen. And Thanos would still lack two stones – and would find it difficult to control the powers of the stones without the Gauntlet.

 

Star-Lord had managed the Power-stone because he had not been alone and the combined minds of Mantis, Rocket, Groot and himself had just been enough not to kill them.

And Stephen was such a skilled sorcerer, that he could touch the Time-stone without protection. Something he shouldn't have been able to. Not even TAO or other ancient masters had been able to do that.

But even Thanos risked his mind and body using the powers from the stones raw, without the gauntlet – and he knew that.

If their plan had worked, they would have destroyed the Gauntlet and prevented 'The Snap'. Thanos might have killed them, but the snap would never happen....and they might even have been able to kill him, as the possibility had shown.

 

Stephen handed the Time-stone to Thanos and Thanos put it in the Gauntlet. Then Star-Lord attacked and Thanos disappeared.

 

The others returned. Dumbfounded. What had happened here? Had Stephen just given Thanos the Time-stone? Tony didn't understand.

“ _I am not that important.....so why? Why did you do that?_ ” Tony asked.

And Star-Lord felt on his knees – realising that his earlier actions had just ruined their chances of defeating Thanos.

Stephen couldn't tell them that he had done that, knowing that he, as one of the few, would not be in the future, when things were settled. The future he cold see on the other mountain-top in that strange landscapes of treads. He couldn't even tell them how it would be settled. He could just see that after the tangled mess in the 'mist' in the 'valley' that all the possible futures made – the fabric of life – his tread wasn't there. But the treads of all the others were there. As far as he could see. But he was willing to pay that price.

His body hurt – he had used his powers to their limits. Beyond that. He had nothing left. He could feel – as a doctor – that he had internal injuries. Maybe even worse than Tony's.

“ _We are in the end-game, now.”_ , was all he could say.

_______________________________________

On Earth – in Wakanda – the Avengers assembled to get ready to fight Thanos. Vision had felt him coming, so they had time to plan – but not much. The main plan was to delay Thanos so much that Wanda would have time to destroy the Mind-stone.

Bruce attacked first – but failed. Steve was blasted away – T'Challa didn't cope much better and Falcon failed too.

 

And Wanda used all her power to destroy the Mind-stone – and Vision at the same time.

 

Rhodey was flung away, Bucky was blasted away, Natasha and Okoye didn't manage much better and even Groot was defeated easily.

 

Steve returned and managed to prevent Thanos from using the Gauntlet, but Thanos had now the strength of a God and Steve was still very human, even if he was enhanced.

 

But Wanda managed to destroy the Mind-stone and Vision at the same time, just before Thanos came too close....and the explosion didn't destroy Earth.......Victory!

 

 

Just – Thanos had the Time-stone and had learned enough to turn back time – and yank the Mind-stone away from Vision's forehead as the Time-stone un-did Wanda's doings and Visions' sacrifice.

 

Vision died immediately – with a big hole in his head.

 

Now Thanos had all 6 stones. As he placed the last one, he could feel the power surging through him. He felt like a God.

 

And was immediately attacked by Thor, who used his axe to absorb the enormous amount of energy Thanos threw against him. Thor threw his axe – Storm-breaker – and it landed deep into Thanos' chest.

Thor landed, his eyes still with the hot-white colour of lightning and he pushed the axe deeper into Thanos' chest. Thanos yelled in agony.

 

He didn't die instantly, though, and he mocked Thor and said, that he should have aimed after Thanos' head and Thanos, even dying form his injury, managed to snap his fingers.

 

There was a blinding light and Thanos' left side and hand were severely burned, and the gauntlet was halfway melted. As Eitri had predicted. Unfortunately too late.

 

Thor had time to ask, “ _What did you do!?”_ and then Thanos disappeared and the Avengers looked at each other. What had happened? Had the gauntlet failed?

 

And then people began to turn into dust and fade away....

 

Bucky – Falcon – T'Challa – Groot – Wanda – the warriors on the plane in Wakanda – mothers – fathers – children.

 

And on Titan, the group supported each other and walked towards Tony. Just – Doctor Strange was alone and sitting where he had been sitting since Thanos had thrown him as a used rag-doll. And they could only watch as first Mantis, then Drax, then Star-Lord disintegrated and then Doctor Strange. He managed to utter, “ _I am sorry – this was the only way..”_ before he turned to dust.

And then Peter – but his spider-powers made the progress go agonizing slow....

 

And Tony was sitting on Titan with the last remnants of Peter on his hand.

Nebula sat down beside him and couldn't believe it.

 _“He did it!?_ ”

 


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen crumbled - and returned. And we learn a bit more about Cloak.

Stephen was strangely enough relieved, when he felt himself fade away. It was painless, but weird non-the-less. His mind and body were so tired....he had looked at so many futures – even if he didn't need to live through all of them, he still had had to follow some of them through the 'mist' in the 'valley' and up on the other side in order to be sure that he had chosen the right one - and he was tired. Mentally and bodily exhausted.

 

He had seen that his tread didn't move up, through the valley and up on the other side in that landscape of moving treads, that made 'the fabric of life' – and it was all right. If loosing his life could lead to the end of Thanos and bringing back the 'snapped' beings all over the Galaxy – it would be more than acceptable.

It was weird, though, because the other times he had died, except in Dormammu's' realm - he had been able to push his soul out or it would have been pushed out – just like The Ancient One's had done, as she died. But he had felt his soul being dragged towards something – and he couldn't control it.

 

 

And then everything went dark..

 

 

When he came to his senses, he wasn't a place he expected to be. He sucked in a gasp of air as he realised he was just sitting on the same place he had left, as he crumpled into dust. He was back on Titian and for a nauseating moment he felt overwhelmed by doubt: he wasn’t supposed to be here – not to be alive – and yet here he was. This was not just his soul. It was a living breathing body – and without injuries. When he fought Thanos, he had still the pain from Ebony Maw's surgical needles all over his body. He had all the injuries and internal bleeding and broken ribs, he had achieved during the fight with Thanos, shortly before he had turned into dust. But now?

Stephen looked down at his hands. No phantom pain any-more and no scars. And his body was in perfect working condition – no pain there either. What on Earth had happened? Why was he back in a new and intact body and.....

 

And that was the moment where he felt a familiar feeling around his shoulders.

 

 

“Hello, old friend.”, Stephen said and patted the Cloak and he continued, “I am sorry I didn't warn you, so you could get away from me. You crumpled together with me. Died - it wasn't fair. I suppose not many of your species – what ever you are – are left. And then I got you killed as well. Again. What a nice friend I am...”

Cloak lifted away from his shoulders and moved around and was now in front of Stephen – and it began to change.

It became thicker – more 3-dimensional. Where the collar had been, was now a head – strangely flat and with only slits for eyes and a very broad slit for a mouth and the corners of the collar had moved upwards and had become horns. The clasps were now fangs sticking out of that broad mouth.....and it was filled with smaller pointy versions of those golden clasps: too many of them. It looked rather uncanny with so many – all too many – teeth.

Those parts of the Cloak, which sometimes acted as a sort of 'hands', were now real limbs – with hands and claws - and the pattern inside the Cloak was now scales on the stomach of that creature. The round pattern on the shoulder of the Cloak was a hump on the back and the weird patterns on the outside of the cloak, those which looked so much like pieces of fabric sewn together, were now scales on the back and hind-legs of the now more than 3 metres tall creature, which was looking down at the sitting Stephen.

He just looked up at the creature calmly. He had known that it was some sort of creature from another dimension – or maybe just another planet in the Galaxy – and it had saved his life so many times – if 'he' wanted Stephen's life now – it would be all right.

It knelt in front of him and grappled for his head and very gently pressed its own forehead against Stephen's and now Stephen could see pictures in his head.

He saw the huge version of the Cloak and a very small version of himself – and he was running away - screaming. Stephen closed his eyes and concentrated and made the small figure, clad in blue, turn around and go back to the huge red monster and hug it – and now Stephen used words, “I know you can understand my words even if you can't talk. I will never be afraid of you. Never! You have saved my life so many times from the first time we saw each other. You saved it mere minutes after we had seen eachother. If you want my life in return – maybe for my betrayal and your death because of me – then it is allright. I am not even supposed to be here.”

The picture, he now saw in his head, was a now smaller version of the monster now hugging the little blue version of himself back – and then the perspective changed. It was a bit like watching an old movie. And he could see one of the rooms in the Sanctum. The picture was a bit distorted as if...

 

“You are showing me how things looked, when you were in that exhibition case in the Sanctum?”, Stephen asked.

 

And the picture changed – Stephen could see himself walking by and later running by and later again being smashed against the glass-case as Kaecilius tried to kill him. All the time he could see a glowing light surrounding him. And he realised that Cloak could see his magic.

The picture changed again. Now he could see a weird world with a lot of creatures flapping around. Some of them looked like Cloak in his monster-appearance and some like Cloak when he most of all looked like a piece of outerwear. There were a lot of beings in different colours and shapes. Some even looking a bit like classic Persian rugs. Maybe too many beings, because Stephen could see how some of them would fight to get a nice place to sit in the green sunlight and to get to some fluid from a pond(?) in the landscape.

Then the picture changed again and soldiers from another race landed in big ships and began to shoot the beings. And suddenly Stephen understood, “Thanos came to your planet as well? And killed half of you?”

Now the creature showed something that Stephen didn't understand immediately: he was shown a picture of himself and Christine. They kissed and suddenly Christine was holding a baby. Then the picture faded and Stephen was shown a red creature, which looked a bit different from Cloak and then 4 other creatures, two of them looking like Persian rugs and two looking more like tea-towels. They were fighting (?) and suddenly two of the creatures held smaller versions of them in their arms(?)...and then Stephen understood and spoke out loud, “We have two genders on Earth (or maybe a bit more, he thought to himself) and you had five..” and as he spoke the picture was altered again: two of the creatures vanished – one of the 'Persian rugs' and one of the 'tea-towels' and the rest were just standing there and then the babies vanished too.

Stephen nodded and said, “Thanos came to your overpopulated planet and wanted to press down over your heads the same solution he had used on so many other planets. But he had not imagination enough to understand that there could be more than two genders necessary for breeding. And he killed almost everybody of two of your genders, not being able to see the subtle differences. And that is why you almost became extinct.”

 

And he was shown the strange planet with the green sunlight again. Just now there were only a very few creatures left.

 

Then the creature did let go of his head and slowly turned into Cloak again and moved around and hugged Stephen's shoulders.

 

Again the corners of the collar touched his temples and he was shown, in a high-speed tempo, how Cloak had ended up on Earth together with the remaining few creatures of his species and how they had served humans for a long time. And then Stephen was shown how Cloak had sort of 'slept' in his glass-case until a glowing Stephen had passed by. Then he saw the fight in the Sanctum through Cloak's eyes...or whatever his optical organs were – and then Stephen could almost feel how content Cloak was being together with him.

“I love you, too, Cloak, I really do.”, Stephen said as he patted the part of the Cloak, that touched his shoulder.

And then he removed his hand. Still deeply worried that he had taken a wrong turn and somehow had chosen the wrong future. Not the 14.000.605th but somehow the – oh he didn't know? The 14.000.602nd? Because he had not seen his own tread move up from the 'valley' as he had seen the possible futures– so how could he still be alive, if he had chosen the right future?

_________________________

He couldn't see Tony from where he was sitting, and he hadn't been that far away from Tony as he had felt himself turn into dust. So – had Tony moved? Had he been more injured, than Stephen had assumed and had gotten up and staggered around until he would die of his blood-loss? And who would be with him? Hopefully Peter, because Stephen had an idea how badly Tony would cope if Peter had died. Stephen had seen Drax and Mantis – and Quill – disappear before he had felt the first tendrils of the weird feeling of himself dis-integrating. So – Tony would be together with Nebula and Peter. Not an utter catastrophe then. And Nebula would provide a vehicle to get them away from Titan – if the ship hadn't been too damaged during the fight. Maybe even Quill's ship was still in functioning order.

The question was: why was Stephen Strange still alive?

 


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well - the question why Stephen Strange was alive is answered now. Stephen argues with an Entity (Madame Death) and the first outlines of a solution might be there (if you squint)
> 
> I have borrowed something from here: http://marvel-movies.wikia.com/wiki/Cosmic_Entities
> 
> In the comics Thanos just killed 'half the Universe' to impress 'Mistress Death'. Not in this version and not in the movie.
> 
> And I still think that 'Half the Universe' is just too big a mouthful for Thanos to destroy. Even with an Infinity Gauntlet. The Universe is f****** big! Even our galaxy is huge! Our solar-system is vast! And it has always bothered me a bit how '6 Infinity stones controlling every aspect of themselves in the whole Universe' just - by coincidence - happened to be in one single galaxy - and to be in the nearest neighbourhood around Earth - only in travel-distance away from Earth (even if 'travel' was by alien space-ships), so - I made it all on a much smaller scale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And did Thanos kill 'half of all life'? That would be an even bigger catastrophe. In one gram of soil there are more than 40 millions of bacteria. Kill half of them and half of all the other decomposers - and every biological cycle will be destroyed. We are protected by our own bacteria on our skin. We consist of more bacteria than human cells (in numbers - not in weight) and without the bacteria in our intestines we should eat twice as much food to survive. Not a good idea, Thanos!
> 
> Around Tjernobyl there are parts in the forests, where small radioactive particles have killed all life in the soil. Nothing decomposes there. Leaves just lie there. Dead trees just lie there. The biological cycle is broken. Such a shame Thanos didn't listen in his science-class back in school.

In his mind Stephen was still looking through so many of the futures, he could remember immediately, to see if he could figure out, where he might have 'taken a bad turn' and chosen a wrong future. But to his best knowledge he couldn't find the exact point, where the future had spiralled out of control.

Everything had played out exactly as in the future, where he had seen the treads of everybody, well apart from himself, move up on that 'mountain-side' and away from the 'mist in the valley'. Looking out into the future had its limitations, and he had been more limited than ever this time – since he couldn't contact Agamotto and was not able to contact the Dark Dimension and his (former?) wife Clea. But something must have had the right future reacting like a ball in a pin-ball-machine and had made it spiral out of control and move in a totally wrong direction. So what now? How could he repair his mistake and get things back in order again? This was his worst nightmare – to make mistakes – irreparable ones – always his worst nightmares, even compared to those about his death in Dormammu's realm. Nightmares about how he could not save his sister and his cousin, back then as a young man. Or about how he had turned his brother into a vampire and had condemned him to another dimension, away from Earth.

 

Right now Stephen couldn't remember one single one of all his successes – only the few mistakes, he had made in his life. And his feeling of being an utter failure was consuming him. A few tears were dripping from his eyes and down on his now healed hands. And not even the well-known feeling of Cloak around his shoulders could comfort him, because he had killed Cloak as well, hadn't he?

 

And then he heard something – steps in the stones on the surface of Titan.

 

He looked up as a figure came walking towards him. He couldn't see it clearly as it had the low sun behind him or her. As it came even closer, Stephen could see who it was and he was somehow relieved.

 

He rose and bowed his head in a greeting.

 

“Madame Death – you have come to collect me after all..” he said.

 

The figure, which was coming closer, did resemble a human female, apart from her face. Stephen could never understand why she had chosen to look like a human female – a very well-shaped female – and then top it with a skull-head. A bone-white skull – almost – but not quite – resembling the cranium of a human being. But with eyes – or at least a glint in the depth of the eye-sockets – and an ability to move the bone-material as if it was skin. She could smile and frown and – God help him, because that was uncanny – blink with her eye-lids.

 

She was one of the mightiest beings in the Galaxy. One of the four cosmic Entities: 'Eternity', 'Entropy', 'Infinity' and then herself 'Death'. All linked together – all in balance.

 

And Stephen couldn't help thinking that she must have been busy collecting all those souls – and that Eternity would be 'sated' for a long time, having absorbed all those trillions of lives at once, when Thanos had killed half of the population in the Galaxy with his snap.....But maybe that wasn't totally what had happened?

 

Madame Death made a gesture and said, “Please sit down, Doctor Strange. And no....I haven't come to collect you. But I am puzzled about you.”

 

She looked closer at him as she sat down beside him, “You look very human – but I sense that your human body is build from a different material – Angelic – as far as I can sense. So how could that happen? You should not have been able to regenerate your-self, Doctor Strange. And yet – here you are. An immortal human being – an impossibility. That is why I entered this reality and this place to figure out how this could happen.”

Stephen just looked at her. He had met her before....just as he had met Eternity, but he had never spoken to her. In fact he had avoided to meet her for a long time – despite him being so close to dying so many times – and actually dying 2012 times so many years ago in The dark Dimension.

 

He frowned, “I have never thought about myself as an immortal. And I can get wounded and feel pain – so immortal? I doubt it. When should I have got Angelic material build into my body?”

And just as he asked, he realised when and where it had happened.

“Oh..”, he said.

“Oh?”

Stephen nodded, “I realise now how and when that did happen..”

 

And then he told about what had happened in Baron Mordo's cellar so many years ago.

 

She nodded, “And since that time – everytime you got wounded, Agamotto's material did rebuild you. That makes sense.”

 

He looked at her and asked, “And now...what? What is going to happen....and why did you all allow Thanos to be so incredible stupid? And why weren't we protected? I passed “The Arena Test” and we were promised to be protected, so we would have a chance to develop. And look at us now – and I suppose the situation on Earth - and other planets - is bad as well.”

 

She frowned and looked at him, “Well – half the number of every thinking species died on Earth and on other planets, but you had your chance to develop. All species – or at least the thinking ones – the self-aware ones – have had their time. And your time was running out. You humans have had your time, Doctor Strange.”

 

He spluttered, “...'Our time'?! How fast do you expect us to develop!??”

 

She frowned again, “5 millions years should be enough, don't you think?”

 

“5 million years?! We didn't even have 500.000. Barely 150.000 years. 5 million years ago, we were still apes living in a forest. We divided from the chimps 3.5 millions years ago...and only became us – Homo Sapiens Sapiens - about 150.000 years ago.”

 

She just looked at him.

 

“If you do not believe me, then look into my head and see the knowledge there. We haven't got everything right – not totally about the age of the Universe. But we did make the calculations about ourselves right. And I did pass “The Arena-test” - Eternity summoned me several years ago – and I passed and...”

She shook her head, “No – it is impossible. No one has passed that test being only 150.000 years old as a species.”

He smiled at her, “That is exactly why we were promised protection. I was told that we – despite being on such a low level – mentally and energy-wise – were interesting and that was the reason for the promise of protection. And some fine protection that is!”

 

He stopped and squinted at her, “I know – and Eternity was so nice to tell me, so I had no doubt – that we are, quote: “ _Bacteria on a dust-particle in the creators attic_ ” unquote – but I was told at the same time, that we have potential for so much more. But not if we are being used as lab-rats, when mightier beings are being tested!”

She remained silent for a moment and then she said, “How did you know? That we tested Thanos? You were not supposed to know that.....” - and her voice trailed off.

 

Stephen smirked at her, “We didn't know for sure. We had a suspicion, but you just confirmed it. Well -  It is not nice to have confirmed, that we were just used as lab-rats!”

 

She looked at him with a frown, “You are lying to me. You can't have developed such an intelligence in such a short time. Not so you can look through our – disguises and plans – and there is no way species like you could have developed such advanced computers and space-ships being only 150.000 years old.....No way.”

 

“But we have – and we can use our flesh-computers wisely. Well – that is most of us, and not always. We developed civilisations – cities – agriculture – writing – about 8000 years ago. That was the same time where our main sciences did divide in two: _Western Science_ – with alchemists and mechanical devices and manipulation of matter and atoms and molecules - and _Magic Science_ with spells and manipulation of Magic matter. Just recently have we managed to build a bridge between those two – and have reached the point where we have brains enough to develop mighty weapons, that could blow Earth to tiny fragments or poison all life. And hopefully wisdom enough not to use those weapons. We have been so close to annihilate ourselves – and yet there were sensible people that took that 'step backwards from that brink' again and again. We have fought one-another in terrible wars – wars that forced our developments of vehicles – computers – mechanical devices. And sorcerers have fought one-another in order to be the mightiest. And have caused havoc and misery, until we had learned our lesson. So...here we were – being promised protection, so we could continue to develop. We were being told that we were unique and 'promising' and that the biggest and worst guys would be kept away from us....such a nice protection! Not the paper worth that it was....well 'not written on', but I would have thought that a promise from.....”

 

She interrupted, “From whom?”

 

He looked at her, “By the mightiest being in the Universe. Not in this 'Galaxy' – and I know all too well that this whole misery is not on a Universal-scale – this is just happening in our own little neighbourhood – only a few trillions sun and planet-systems – even if people, even Thanos, kept on saying 'this Universe' instead of 'this Galaxy'. Our ape-brains have just a tiny grasp about how big the Universe is – even if mightier beings – even like you – tend to get the labels a bit confused. And I know I am not being humble enough around you – and I know that I am on such a low level compared to you. I still think it is wrong to use us just as lab-rats in order to test a mightier being as Thanos.”

 

“And yet you use lab-rats your self? I find the terms and words in your head, Doctor Strange, so you have put the words into my mouth as well.”

 

“I know, Madame, but aren't mightier beings supposed to be more advanced? Less cruel – show more mercy, even towards beings on lower levels? That was what 'The Arena Test' was about, wasn't it? And we – us humans – are less cruel now, than we were before. We are more aware now. But how much do you expect from beings, who just stopped being apes less that 3 million years ago, and who just recently developed societies, water-supply, electricity and computers? I know we have misused animals – treated them badly – even animals with feelings and which are sentient and have self-consciousness. We have even been cruel towards our own. But we are getting better..... “ Stephen said.

 

She nodded, “You are right. We are supposed to be better. And beings have to be tested from time to time. Or else their development would stagnate. But the death of individuals are necessary. You can't have 'life' without 'death'. You can't have 'creation' without 'destruction'. It is a cycle. And everything is connected.”

 

Stephen shook his head, “But that is exactly what was wrong with Thanos' idea. It is as if he had never heard about 'cycles' and 'renewable resources'. We even teach our children in school about such things. That we have molecules in us from the dinosaurs, that walked on Earth 65 million years ago. We even had it in several books about 'a-possible-future' – 'science fiction' – and films – where we discussed the dangers of creating a planet, where nothing could die. An utter catastrophe and extremely dangerous. So we do know – us apes. But did Thanos know?”

 

Stephen rose and made gestures with his arms and hands as he continued, “How could he not know what disasters he would force upon planet-systems? Those planets, where he killed almost everybody and thought the rest to be able to survive? That planet where he killed almost everybody of the two out of the five genders, causing the race to become extinct? He had all the power in the world...and yet he chose to kill. How incredible stupid. Had he never heard about renewable resources? Biological cycles? Photosynthesis? The process where plants build organic – and eatable matter – out of sun-rays, water and carbon-dioxide? And one thing more - if he chose to kill half the population - randomly - in a technological advanced world like Earth – he did risk that this world blew itself apart. Who would look after the nuclear power stations? Prevent aeroplanes with potential dangerous cargo to fall from the sky? Trains to run wild? And if he – and I do not know if he did think about that, too - if he killed ‘half the life’ - of everything on Earth and maybe on other planets as well - that means he killed half the bacteria, that protected the human skin and helped us digest our food (and I bet it is like that in the rest of the Galaxy too), a lot of people would die from weird diseases and would need so much more food to survive. If Thanos did kill half the bacteria and micro organisms that turns ‘detritus’ into something plants could use, and half of those bacteria which decomposed dead bodies, then - Hurray, Thanos - you managed to ruin every biological cycle. We will now have fields, where nothing can grow no matter how much manure you put there and will end up with mummified corpses, that will never be a part of the biological cycle again. A total disaster. Life will die out and he would have killed all life in the end. And you – Celestials and Entities and Deities just watched! Didn't care because you do not remember how it is to have a biological body.”

 

Stephen realised that he had yelled at a god and sat down abruptly, “I am sorry..”, he said.

 

She smiled at him, “Don't be. Sometimes 'apes' speak wise words. And yes, we do not always remember how it is to be bound to a biological body. And yes, it was cruel to make you all pay for Thanos' test. But everything will be repaired, I promise. You will not pay for his mistakes.”

 

Stephen just shook his head, “What are you going to do? 'Un-snap' his snap?”

 

“Something like that, yes.”

 

“You do not understand! It is not that easy! We lower creatures are bound to time – we can't just jump forwards or backwards in time. It might be putting the whole Universe at risk. It is sometimes a bit unstable and require maintenance – and believe me: putting this whole galaxy backwards in time – and for how long? To the day where Thanos got his very 'brilliant' idea? - Such a stunt could make all the aspects of the Infinity-stones unstable. Or maybe just 'time' and that would be bad enough and make life, as we lower beings know it, impossible. And unless you do have a special agreement with the Creator of the Universe, you can't just make a whole damned Galaxy jump backwards in time, to the moments before Thanos' snap – or even before he got this insane idea - and without doing that, all those people who died because of the snap – because of the falling aeroplanes and blowing-up-nuclear-facilities, they would still be dead as door-nails. All those planets, which were his test-fields, where he killed half the population and thought it would be so much better afterwards, they will still be dead. We are bound to our time-line – to the future that now is chosen and is a part of our time-line now. It can't just be un-done!”

 

He looked at her and saw that she didn't understand and he and frowned, “You do not see the problem?”

 

She shook her head and Stephen continued, “Well, time for a story from my planet then. About 'done' and 'un-done'. This is a story happening in the 80'ties, where big companies began to think that computers could replace humans. This boss – he had worked so hard to understand how a computer could write text. He thought, with men's disregard for women's labour, that he could now save money, by being his own secretary. Because all she did was just 'typing' - at least in his mind – and he would get wiser - and with this new wonderful computer-machine he could easily be his own secretary. So – she had worked hard for several days, writing on the computer key-pad – and it is so much more easy to use a computer now – but she had worked hard and written several pages of text. Made it look nice and erased typos and made the margins even. Not as easy as it sounds. And then the boss would impress his colleagues from another company. He told his secretary to move away from the computer and sat down. Pointed at the screen and said, _“Look at all this nice text and then imagine that the keypad had an error, so it would write an 'o' instead of an 'e'..”_ And while the boss said that , he wrote the code, that would turn every 'e' in the text into an 'o'. The secretary looked at him with horror – because it was in the times, where you couldn't make automatic back-up and if it wasn't mended, she would have waisted a lot of work. And she dared utter, “ _But, sir, the text is ruined and.._.” And he turned to her, smiled triumphantly and said, “ _Dearest little Miss Hanson, now just look!_ ” and then he wrote the code that would turn every 'o' in the text into an 'e' and he pointed triumphantly and the screen. “ _Look – everything is back in order.”_ But it was not in order, was it, Madame?”

 

And Stephen looked at Madame Death.

 

She nodded and said, “No...because now every original 'o' in the text would now be an 'e' too. I see. We can't just un-snap Thanos' snap. The second he snapped, the future was chosen. I can see it now.”

 

She paused and was silent for a moment, “We thought that it could just be un-done. That after Thanos' test, we could just....”

 

“Re-set the lab-conditions?”, interrupted Stephen and continued, “You are supposed to be so much more intelligent and....”

 

She interrupted, “Do you know the secrets of growing fungi in ants' nests? And remember – I am stealing the words and concepts from your brain. Do you know the inner life of an earth-worm? We are more intelligent and more powerful – but we are not all-knowing and omnipotent. We are 'gods' but not GOD.”

 

“And yet you allowed a being to get so much power, that he could resemble GOD?”

 

“I was not the one, who gave him the Time-stone..”

 

“No...but you didn't stop him, when this was just a mad idea in his head – you allowed him to commit genocide on a lot of planets. Wrecking havoc.....just because his own race didn't pass the test of being able to share and made this planet here a barren and almost sterile place. I am not saying that it could never be the fate of Earth – but at least we would keep it on a planetary scale – not making all the other planets in the Galaxy pay for our mistakes. Why didn't you show mercy towards all those suffering beings and stopped him? Stopped using this Galaxy as a test-field, with so little regard to living sentient beings?”

 

She frowned and looked at him, “You think we ought to have done that?”

 

Then she was silent for a moment and then she nodded and said, “.. and by the way – it was not the whole Universe – not even the whole Galaxy. Not even half of it - most of all 'The Nine Realms'. You never wondered why the Infinity Stones were so close to each-other? That Earth had 3 of them at a time? And how Thanos managed to eliminate powerful beings before he collected the stones.”

 

Stephen smiled a bit sadly, “That was what made us think it was a set-up. We just didn't know if we were the lab-rats or others were too. A bit too cruel to make the majority of a Galaxy into a sand-box, hm? And yes – we sorcerers had noticed that 'Ego' was gone. That the Deities Odin, Vile and Vé had either died or just settled down on a low level and....”

 

Madame Death frowned, “Odin was an Asgardian...”

 

Stephen laughed, “Oh come on. We do not buy that. You knew perfectly well what Odin was and you made sure that the mightiest beings, who could have stopped Thanos, were out of his way. Odin had just chosen to become a body and to be limited for a while. He and his brothers played around with worlds and had created living beings: Asgardians, Jotuns, Elves, Dwarfs and even pushed development a bit further here on Earth so we humans developed. I have no illusions about that. Even Agamotto told me that they had thought someone to have interfered with our development. There is your explanation for our fast evolution. Evolution turned up for full speed because the circumstances were altered and pushed _Homo Heidelbergensis_ into speed-evolution-mode. And the Asgardians might look vaguely human to you, but they are heavier and stronger and can survive in space. They are gods compared to us – and Odin was so much more – even if he did like to pretend he was just an Asgardian. And the Collector – 'Vile' - allowed himself to be killed by Thanos and the Grandmaster - 'Vé' - is probably building himself a new world by now. You made sure that Hela was out of the way as well and that Loki and Thor and the rest of the Asgardians were not strong enough to defeat Thanos. Sutur was back in his own realm and everything was laid out so Thanos might have a chance to collect all the stones and have a gauntlet rebuild. A test....That is why Agamotto and his bunch left this Galaxy about 20 years ago and why I couldn't get through to our allies in The Dark Dimension and...”

 

She frowned, “We had nothing to do with Odin's death. Nor Ego's....We thought it was Thanos' doings. And we can't order Agamotto and his peers to do anything.”

 

Stephen shook his head, “Thanos wasn't powerful enough to do that. Not before he had several of the stones. And believe me – I did look through futures where I fled with the Time-stone. It was a descent into madness – both for him and me. I didn't have to follow that potential future for long to see that. So if it wasn't you who arranged things so neatly for Thanos' test, and he wasn't powerful enough to eliminate his strongest opponents – and Agamotto and the beings as mighty as him just left this Galaxy – well – it only leaves one conclusion, doesn't it?”

 

She nodded, “I think we were tested too. We tested Thanos, but it was a test of us too, we the 'Entities' – the mightiest beings in this Galaxy. Thanos failed. But we did too. You are right. We should have stopped him.”

 

Stephen looked at her, “You do know, we had conducted some experiments a bit like that on Earth many years ago? The test-persons were told that they should punish a 'test-person' – who in reality was an actor – if he did get the answers wrong. He was wearing electrodes and would feel pain if they activated a switch. Some of the test-persons continued, until the actor screamed in agony, because very competent persons in white coats told them how important this experiment was. I am proud to say that the vast majority – over 95 % - refused to let the poor 'test-person' suffer into the 'red and dangerous' dial-area....”

 

Stephen stopped talking and just looked at her and he saw that she felt embarrassed, “Well – maybe it is better for a being – empathy-wise – to have a body and to remember how a body functions.”, she finally said.

 

She looked out into the distance and then back at Stephen, and then she rose and said, “I think I better find the others. There are quite a bunch of things we have to discuss and we will return. We'll need the good advices from the ants and the earthworms, I think, and that includes you and some ...”

 

Stephen interrupted her, “If you are not going to collect me and I am supposed to continue living, why couldn't I see my own tread continue? I was no longer a part of 'The Fabric of Life” - I am no longer a part of it – and how can that be allowed?”

 

She looked at him, “As far as I understand it, the 'tread' as you call it is the signature of your bodies. Your 'flesh and bone'. Your body was altered – on a deeper level – so your signature must have been altered too. You are not an 'abomination', Stephen Strange, I have collected some of those – and your signature is not like theirs. Maybe – just maybe – your Agamotto made sure that you can continue protecting Earth for a long time? I have no intention of 'collecting' you now – and if I have to wait for a long time, before I do that, it is fine with me.”

 

She smiled, “It is not often that 'a bacteria on a dust-particle' can teach me something new.”

 

She turned and walked away, but stopped as Stephen called, “Madame – I do suppose that all the souls are not on their way to Eternity – 'he' can only consume a limited amount of souls and not trillions at the same time. So where are they?”

 

She smiled again, “In the soul-stone. We had intended to return them. But as you told me – it is not so easy to find the original letter 'o' and turn them into 'o' again, when they were all being 'e's. We will return and then we will have to figure out how to alter this future without tilting the Universe. After all – you did see a positive outcome. Let us all stick to that thought.”

 

“One thing more, Madame. How am I supposed to get away from this planet . And the rest of us? Tony and Peter and Nebula?”

“Peter?”

“The young man in the spider-suit?”

“I can only sense one human signature on this planet. Your signature is not quite human and the cyborg's signature is different too. So there is no Peter, I am afraid.”

 

Stephen just looked at her and then he said, “Damned it! Poor Tony Stark. And this is my fault!”

 

She shook her head, “How can it be your fault? You were not the one, who snapped your fingers wearing an Infinity Gauntlet.”

 

“No – but I chose a future where Peter came here to Titan.”

 

“And he wouldn't have turned to dust back on Earth?”, she said just before she vanished.

 

And then Stephen realised she was right. Peter had made a huge difference being on that space-ship. Even saving Stephen's life, as Ebony had tortured him – and they had all caught Thanos a bit off kilter, by arriving on Titan and preventing Ebony from arriving. They had all fought like mad – and maybe – just maybe – the solution was there – in the fight. Maybe they just had to go a bit back in time and alter a tiny bit – and they would have won the battle. They had been so close.

Damned he was so blind and hadn't been able to see more that bits and snippets of the events. He had been able to see the end-result. But that was still several months out in the future. He was still raving around in 'the misty valley'. At least he did know by now that he was a part of the future now.

So - Time to find Tony and figure out how they could get back to Earth. Portals were out of the question – especially because Stephen didn't know exactly where he was. They could be on the other side of the Galaxy and even if portals were powerful and could bring sorcerers to and away from other dimensions, Stephen wasn't so sure about how far they could reach in this dimension. So – the ship belonging to that hot-headed Star-lord and his companions or maybe that belonging to the blue cyborg Nebula – maybe they could be a possibility?

 


End file.
